Underhanded Tactics
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: It's a crazy week, starting with a mixed up dance class and continuing with stolen decks and a reciept for Yugi's rental of an amusement park! And Yami Bakura and Yami Taerro have some evil schemes in store for them there...(COMPLETED! Please R+R)
1. Chapter 1 Death Drop

Chapter One: Death Drop  
  
"Hurry up, Yugi!" Tea Gardner called from the top of the stairwell, her voice echoing in the other's ears. "We're going to be late for dance class!"  
  
It was a Friday morning and Yugi Motou and his friends, Tea, Triston Taylor, Joey Wheeler, Ryou Bakura, Serenity Wheeler, Mai Valentine, and Duke Devlin were all on their way for the third floor to attend their weekly dance class.  
  
"Who cares if we're late," Joey panted grumpily, clutching his side. (he had a cramp from running up three flights of stairs just after breakfast.)  
  
"WHAT?!" Tea demanded as they opened the door to the third floor and emerged from the stairwell.  
  
"Never mind that," Duke said, looking at his watch. "I think we really ARE late!"  
  
"Oh no!" Tea cried, crestfallen, and they all hurried down the hallway toward their dance room.  
  
As they approached the door, dance music started to fill the air.  
  
"Do you hear that?" Yugi asked, perking his ears. "It sounds like music. But what's it for?"  
  
"I don't know," Joey replied, opening the door to their room.  
  
Inside, the other two dance students, Seto Kaiba and Ishizu Ishtar were dancing in the center of the floor, the instructor calling out each move in case they forgot.  
  
Obviously, they were practicing for class, as the teacher normally had them do if they were early, but Joey couldn't resist. He snickered at the two.  
  
Ishizu stopped dancing and Kaiba gladly let go of her hands and took a few steps away from her, crossing his arms. (He had only joined dance class because it was assigned as a required course.)  
  
"Very good!" The instructor said, walking forward and motioning for everyone else, who were still standing in the doorway, to enter. "Now! Let's get to work. We're going to be learning a new technique today."  
  
"Which one?" Tea asked excitedly as everyone else got into the row across the room, as usual.  
  
Tea's dream was to become a professional dancer, so any new technique presented to her was like a dream come true.  
  
  
  
The teacher smiled at her enthusiasm.   
  
"It's called the "Death Drop,"" she replied with a grin.  
  
"D...death drop?" Joey asked uncertainly, backing up a little.  
  
"Let me demonstrate," The teacher said, beckoning Tea forward.  
  
Tea boldly walked forward and took the teacher's hands. Tea bent her right leg at the knee and leaned back until her back was just inches from the floor. Then, she stretched out her left leg so that it was straight as she hung down under the teacher's support.  
  
Then, she popped back up.  
  
"Excellent," she complimented Tea. "Now, does everyone understand?" she asked the other students.  
  
Mai and Serenity's eyes were bulging, and Ishizu looked a serene as ever. She never usually got scared at a new dance tactic.  
  
The boys, on the other hand, looked horrified.  
  
"What if I actually DROP someone?" Yugi thought nervously.  
  
"Hey, can I be Georgette's partner today?" Triston asked nervously, beginning to sweat.  
  
"Georgette" was the name for the invisible partner that the extra boy (there was one more boy than girl if you counted the instructor in the classroom) got to dance with.  
  
The teacher smiled.  
  
"No, Yugi Motou may have that honor, as I believe he's a bit too small to support any of the other girls," The instructor said. "You can pair up with Tea."  
  
"Great," Triston grumbled walking over to Tea, while Yugi sighed with relief at his luck.  
  
"Ryou, you can practice with me," The instructor continued.  
  
"I'm sorry if I drop you," he mumbled as he scuffled over to her.  
  
"May I NOT participate?" Ishizu asked politely.  
  
Everyone looked astounded. Ishizu never backed out of a dance.  
  
"Of course," The instructor replied, however.  
  
"Why ain't you participating?" Joey asked as he took Mai's hands.  
  
"I'm not wearing the right clothing," Ishizu said simply.  
  
Joey studied her for a moment.  
  
"Oh yeah!" he said finally. "You're wearing a dress and if you bent your legs like that then you might show..."  
  
He was cut off as Mai smacked him.  
  
"Learn when to keep your mouth SHUT, Joey," she said angrily.  
  
Mai bent her legs and leaned backwards, and fell right out of Joey's loose grip and onto the floor.  
  
Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut from where he had been observing from the other side of the room.  
  
"That hurt, Joey," Mai snapped, picking herself up and brushing off her skirt.  
  
Skirt.  
  
She turned bright red and walked away from Joey, although, luckily, no one else besides Kaiba had been watching her.  
  
"Sorry!" Joey called after her, but she was too embarrassed to respond.  
  
"I won't drop you, Serenity," Duke said sweetly, holding out his hand.  
  
"Okay, Duke," she said, taking his hand.  
  
She bent her legs correctly and slid down toward the floor, but didn't touch it.  
  
"Hey! I did it!" she said happily as she dangled down.  
  
"Yeah," Duke said, still trying to support her and be happy at the same time.  
  
She struggled to pop back up as Tea had, but found she couldn't.  
  
"Uh oh, I can't get up!" she cried.  
  
Joey quickly rushed over to his sister and helped her back to her feet.  
  
"Arigato, onchian!" she said gratefully, rubbing her shins.  
  
Meanwhile, Triston leaned Tea backward, and caught a glimpse of Joey, Serenity, and Duke. The thought of Duke and Serenity made him so angry that he accidentally slacked off on the support part, which resulted in Tea crashing to the floor.  
  
"TRISTON!!!" she cried angrily as she stood up again.  
  
  
  
"Huh?" he replied absentmindedly as he stared at Serenity.  
  
Tea was steaming by the end of class. She was upset with Triston for dropping her, and that they hadn't gotten to do the next step due to the fact that Serenity and Mai couldn't get a hang of the death drop. (Not to mention Ishizu, Yugi, and Kaiba were hardly participating)  
  
"What did you do, Yug? Have a conversation with Georgie?" Joey asked as they walked out of the room.  
  
"Well, almost right," Yugi replied. "I kinda ignored Georgette and talked with Yami instead."  
  
"Oh..." Joey remarked as they headed home.  
  
Kaiba had already taken the elevator downstairs, and Ishizu always seemed to disappear as soon as class ended.  
  
"Bye guys!" Yugi called as he took a turn for the Game Shop.  
  
"See you, buddy!" Joey called as he and Serenity walked toward their home.  
  
Duke and Triston were arguing, and didn't reply, and Tea was still angry about class. (Mai had disappeared as well)  
  
Yugi walked inside the Game Shop, letting the door slam behind him.  
  
"Sorry about that!" he said to his Grandpa, who was standing behind the counter, waiting for customers, as Yugi dumped his bag on the floor.  
  
"Not a problem," Grandpa replied good-naturedly, pulling out a large cream colored envelope and handing it to Yugi. "By the way, Yugi, this came in the mail for you."  
  
Yugi took it. His name was written on the cover in fancy red lettering. There was no return address.  
  
"Hmmm," he muttered as he opened the flap and pulled out a large, thick, card with the same red lettering on it.  
  
"Greetings! You have been invited to a VERY exclusive "Dancing and Dueling" party, to be held this Friday evening at 7:00. Bring your cards, your friends, your date, your family, ANYONE interested in games, and more specifically, Duel Monsters!   
  
Be prepared to duel, trade, see rare cards from many duelists, and dance the night away!"  
  
Underneath the invite was an address.  
  
"What could this be about?" Yugi wondered.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
I hope you liked it so far...Taerro will be returning, but I couldn't find a way to squeeze Amber into this one. Maybe I'll fill her in later...or in another fic.  
  
"Mean! I like Amber! She's the only one who uses ME in a duel!"  
  
Okay! Okay! I'll see what I can do...in the meantime, please review! And come back soon for the next chapter!  
  
BTW: I myself had to do the Death Drop in my dance class...and got soar legs for 3 days afterwards. I couldn't pick myself up either at first. :( 


	2. Chapter 2 A Mysterious Invite

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Invite  
  
Yugi re-read the notice again. It sounded like fun. Dueling, that was his favorite pastime, and dancing; he would finally get to put some of his techniques from dance class into practice.  
  
Maybe...if anyone would dance with him.  
  
"Grandpa?" Yugi asked, handing his grandfather the note. "Can I go to this Dueling and Dancing party tonight?"  
  
Grandpa scanned the note, then put it back on the table.  
  
"I can't see why not," he chuckled. "Why don't you call up your friends and see if they can come as well?"  
  
"I'll do that!" Yugi said happily, running toward the phone.  
  
****  
  
"What this?" Joey Wheeler asked, pulling out a cream envelope from the mail box.  
  
In his curiosity, he nearly tore the envelope to shreds and pulled out the card inside. He read it excitedly and then rushed up to his house.  
  
"Serenity!" he called, dumping the rest of the mail on the staircase. (It was mainly bills and ads for products they weren't buying.)  
  
"Yes, onichan?" Serenity asked, coming out of the kitchen eating an apple.  
  
"How would you like to go to a party tonight?" he asked, holding up the invite.  
  
Serenity looked excited.  
  
  
  
"I'd love to go, onichan!" she said happily.  
  
  
  
"Great!" Joey agreed, and the phone rang.  
  
He slid across the floor (he was wearing socks) and picked up the phone.  
  
"Yo," he said casually, leaning against the wall.  
  
"Joey!" Yugi's voice came through the receiver. "Did you get invited to..."  
  
"...a dueling and dancing party?" Joey finished.  
  
  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"I sure did," Joey replied, sitting down on the stairs. "Are you going? Serenity and I are."  
  
"I sure am!" Yugi said. "Yami and I are going to call up the others to see if they want to go too."  
  
"Okay," Joey said happily. "Guess we'll see you tonight."  
  
"Okay, bye!" Yugi said, hanging up.  
  
*****  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, walking into the computer lab of Kaibacorp where his older brother was sending an e-mail to one of the Kaiba Corporation's biggest customers.  
  
Kaiba clicked the "send" button and swiveled around to face his brother.  
  
"Yes?" he asked.  
  
"This came in the mail for you," Mokuba said, holding out one of the same cream colored cards Joey and Yugi had received. "It seems like you've been invited to a "dueling/dancing" party type thing."  
  
Kaiba took the note and skimmed over it. Then, he handed it back to Mokuba.  
  
"I'm not really interested," he said, turning back around and beginning to type again. "I don't really feel like going anywhere today."  
  
"But Ni-sama!" Mokuba replied, almost pleadingly. "You never go anywhere for fun, and this is one place I can go too! It says bring your family and friends. And I'm sure they'll be lots of duelists to play."  
  
Kaiba sighed. Mokuba really wanted to go.  
  
"All right," he said, turning back around and smiling slightly. "We can go."  
  
"Yay!" Mokuba said happily, running for the door. "I'm going to bring my deck too, just in case there's a duelist for me to play!"  
  
****  
  
That evening, Yugi arrived at the address, a large and beautiful mansion on the west side of town, at 6:45. He had put on a few of his and Yami's fancier bracelets (wearing them was mostly Yami's idea, however) and had decided not to bring their coat.  
  
Joey was wearing the same thing he had worn all day, but Serenity was wearing purple shorts and a glittery purple shirt to match. She looked very pretty.  
  
"Hey!" Joey called, running over to Yugi. "Ready to duel?" he asked, holding up his deck.  
  
Yugi nodded, smiling.  
  
He pulled his deck out of his holder on his belt.  
  
"I sure am," he replied. "You look nice Serenity."  
  
"Thanks," she said, blushing slightly.  
  
"Hey, Yugi!" Came a voice from behind them.  
  
Yugi, Joey, and Serenity looked around to see Bakura, from dance, and his new friend, Taerro.  
  
Taerro was a boy who had been recently possessed by an evil spirit. Yugi and Yami had destroyed the evil spirit, freeing Taerro of his evil reign.   
  
"Hi Bakura, Taerro," Yugi said as they walked up.  
  
"I decided to invite Taerro along," Bakura said, pointing to his black haired friend.  
  
Taerro's gold glasses glinted in the glare from the porch-light. Yugi shielded his eyes as they front door opened and a skinny man walked out.  
  
"Welcome, everyone! Inside, if you will!" he said in a jolly voice with an accent Yugi couldn't quite place, but it was friendly all the same.  
  
"Well, I guess we ought to go in," Bakura shrugged and he and Taerro made their way up to the door.  
  
"You go ahead, Joey," Yugi instructed. "I'm going to wait for everyone else out here."  
  
"Okay," Joey said, taking Serenity's hand and leading her up to the door. "I'm going to get a head start at the refreshments..."  
  
Yugi chuckled.  
  
"Hi!" Tea called, running up to him.   
  
She was wearing a hot pink shirt, and a black skirt. Behind here was Triston and Duke, who hadn't bothered to dress up in anything special for the occasion.  
  
"Hi guys," Yugi said, starting for the door. "They're already starting inside."  
  
"This is so cool," Tea said excitedly as they walked up the marble steps and into the building. "I wonder who has enough cash to be able to throw this whole party for free?"  
  
"Well, they've got to have a lot on hand if they own this place," Duke pointed out.  
  
"True," Yugi admitted, opening the front door.  
  
  
  
Inside, deep red carpeting lined the floor and above them were several crystal chandeliers. There were several tables, dressed with white linen tablecloths, filled with punch and snacks around the room.  
  
In the next room, Yugi could see several dueling arenas, and then down the hall, it appeared to be a dance room.  
  
"WOW," he breathed, looking around. "Yami, what do you think of this place?"  
  
Yami appeared, unseen to everyone except Yugi, beside him.  
  
"It looks very inviting," he commented, looking skeptically around. "But...I'm still interested in the host of this party."  
  
"Hey Yug!" Joey called from a table. "Come on! There's great peanut-butter cookies!"  
  
"I'm going to go to the dance floor to see if I've got any competition," Tea said, and skipped off down the hall.  
  
Triston had gone of with Serenity somewhere. (It was easy to snatch her away from Joey when he had his back turned and mouth full of cookies.)  
  
Duke sighed.  
  
  
  
"I wish I could have invited Amber, but I think that would have been too long of a trip for her," he said.  
  
"Cheer up, I'm sure there's plenty of other things to do," Yugi said happily, pulling out his cards.  
  
"Hey look," Duke said, putting his hand on Yugi's shoulder and pointing across the room. "Even Kaiba and Mokuba came."  
  
Yugi glanced across the room at Seto Kaiba and Mokuba who were by the wall, Mokuba eating a cookie, and Kaiba looking through his dueling deck.  
  
"Hmmm," Yugi thought, when someone tapped him on the back.  
  
"Huh?" Yugi asked, turning around.  
  
A kid was standing beside him with their deck out.   
  
"Do you want to trade?" he asked, pulling out some of his cards. "I've got good ones...Skull Servant, it says on the card that if you have a lot of them they are powerful...uh..."  
  
"No thanks," Yugi replied with an embarrassed grin and a sweatdrop.  
  
Duke was holding back giggles.  
  
Meanwhile, Taerro and Bakura were walking upstairs.  
  
"Where are we going, Bakura?" Taerro asked, slightly nervous, as he glanced back down at everyone else downstairs. "I don't think the party is up here."  
  
"Don't worry," Bakura said calmly. "Just follow me."  
  
The two walked down a dead-end hallway.  
  
"What now?" Taerro asked, starting to sweat.  
  
What was Bakura up to?  
  
Suddenly, Bakura started to glow bright gold and something appeared at his chest.  
  
  
  
"Uh...Bakura?" Taerro asked, backing up, scared.  
  
There was an evil laugh, quite unlike Bakura's usual sweet one. "Bakura" turned around to face Taerro, his eyes narrow with evil.  
  
"I'm not Bakura," he laughed happily, enjoying Taerro's fearful face.  
  
"Who...who...are you?" Taerro gasped, hitting the back of the wall.   
  
There was no escape now.  
  
"I'm someone who needs another person to help me," Yami Bakura said and snatched off Taerro's purple and blue bracelet.   
  
That was where the evil spirit who used to possess Taerro put his powers. Yami Bakura pulled hard and snapped the bracelet in two. A strange white mist filed out of it...and back into Taerro!  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
"Poor Taerro, and he just got freed in the last story"  
  
I know. But anyway, Lady of the Thread: the Death Drop was in "Salsa." It's pretty fun...just not that dip.  
  
Please Review, as always, and next chapter will be up soon! 


	3. Chapter 3 Gone

Chapter 3: Gone  
  
Bakura and Taerro came back downstairs a while later, looking perfectly normal. However, had anyone known better they would have realized that Taerro and Bakura were really hidden deep in their minds, and their outer appearance now dominated by an evil spirit.   
  
Meanwhile, Yugi had decided to let Yami out to dance with Tea, and Duke had found himself over at a table near Kaiba and Mokuba.  
  
"So, what brings you guys here?" Duke asked casually, trying to start a conversation.  
  
"Interest in duel monsters," Kaiba replied shortly.   
  
He didn't look very happy.  
  
"Uh..." Duke muttered nervously, moving away from both of them. (Mokuba was dueling another boy his age on the floor) "Okay, uh...see you later then!"  
  
Duke hurried away.  
  
"Attack!" Mokuba shouted, a little louder than necessary, as they weren't using holographic systems to duel.  
  
Kaiba sighed. All the noise was giving him a headache and still no one who looked challenging enough to play.  
  
"Attention all duelists!" A man's voice boomed over a loudspeaker system. "Please file NEATLY into the next room for deck examination!"  
  
"Deck examination?" Kaiba thought coldly as Mokuba and the other boy picked up their fields. "I want my deck to suit my taste, not someone else's."  
  
Yami and Tea stopped dancing and headed for the room down the hallway. Yami caught a glimpse of Serenity and Triston walking down the hall happily, and Duke who looked a bit nervous still.  
  
Bakura and Taerro was chatting merrily and Kaiba was walking slowly with Mokuba, who looked somewhat interested.  
  
Joey had an armful of cookies in his hands as he walked down the hall trailing crumbs after him.  
  
Yami couldn't resist a laugh.  
  
  
  
"Joey," he said with a chuckled. "Don't you think that's a bit many?"  
  
"Nah," Joey replied in a muffled voice. (There was a cookie in his mouth as well.)  
  
"Look Joey," Tea said pointing. "There's Mai. I didn't see you two dancing while I was in there."  
  
"Mai?" Joey asked as he turned around and smashed right into her, spilling all the cookies on the floor.  
  
"Joey...you..." Mai sputtered angrily but was stopped by the friendly man from before.  
  
"Please! Leave that to us to clean up! You two run along into the next room and have fun," he said politely, getting a broom.  
  
"Uh...okay," Mai said, shocked, and continued into the next room.  
  
When everyone was inside the very crowded and cramped room, a man got up on a mini-stage in front of a long table in the back of the room. He tapped the microphone a few times to test it before speaking.  
  
Yami looked around. Everything looked friendly enough, though there was a trashcan on either side of the table.   
  
"What does he need to throw away so badly?" Yami thought, thinking hard.   
  
"May I watch this, Yami?" Yugi asked politely, and Yami switched minds with his partner.  
  
"Sure," he replied, appearing in spirit form.  
  
(The nice thing about spirit form is that you don't have to worry about knocking into anyone. Yami was standing on top of Mokuba, but he didn't notice, as he couldn't see Yami)  
  
"Now people!" The man said, his voice booming out around the room. "I am a very expirenced duelist who decided to throw this party for all the future professionals out there. That means you!"  
  
  
  
The duelists cheered, though, Kaiba saw nothing to cheer about. He was already practically a professional. Yugi too. They could beat this man, whoever he was...  
  
  
  
"Anyway, this is a little presentation for your benefit called Deck Examination," he continued. "Everyone please place your decks up here on the table and we'll go through them one by one to see if your cards are working well in your deck."  
  
Yugi raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Don't worry!" The man laughed. "The decks will be returned to the proper owner with no modifications made. This isn't a forcing thing, this is merely an advice thing."  
  
The duelists filed up and placed their decks up on the table.  
  
Yugi took off his belt and reluctantly laid it and the deck holder containing his deck up on the counter.  
  
Kaiba placed his deck down, and stood close by the table. Joey and Duke put both of their decks in the middle of the table and Bakura didn't bring his up at all.  
  
"Thank you!" The man said happily, staring rather oddly down at the decks. "NOW, the LUCKY FIRST DECK IS..." he shouted, but was cut off as the entire room dissolved into darkness.  
  
Several people screamed and there was a lot of scuffling around the room. Kaiba crashed into someone else who was by the table as he tried to find Mokuba in the darkness.  
  
"Mokuba?" he asked, rubbing his hands across the table.  
  
There was an odd sweeping noise across the table and something large being lifted up. Kaiba felt across the table and gasped. Where there should have been the dueling decks left up there for the "Deck Examination," there was only bare table-top.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked, clinging to his brother's coat. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah," he murmured, feeling the table again.  
  
There must be some mistake! The decks can't be gone!  
  
"Everyone! Try to remain calm!" Yugi tried to instruct everyone but no one was in the mood to listen to a short high-schooler in a dark room filled with people.  
  
They rushed for the door, (or at least, what they remembered was the door) and ended up knocking Yugi off his feet.  
  
"Ah!" Yugi cried as he tripped and fell into someone else.  
  
"Get off me!" The snapped and shoved him off and into Tea.  
  
"Yugi, are you all right?" she asked, realizing it were he.  
  
Joey ran out of the room and crashed into Duke.  
  
"Get off me!" Duke cried, thinking someone was attacking him, and shoved Joey forward.  
  
Joey teetered for a moment and then fell onto one of the longer refreshment tables. It sank down like a seesaw on one end and the other flipped up, letting the punch bowl and cookies fly in the air.   
  
(The punch bowl landed on Joey)  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Bakura walked up the stairs again, this time alone.  
  
"Why not add to the chaos," he thought happily, groping around on the wall for the lever that controlled the chandelier.  
  
"Ah," he said, touching the rope.  
  
He tugged on it, and it snapped off the wall, and the chandelier fell. Yugi looked up a second before hand to see a rattling chandelier.  
  
"Get out of the way!" he cried. "The chandelier's going to fall!"  
  
"What?" Everyone was screaming, and getting over to the wall of the room, where at least there they could be sure not to get hit with the chandelier.  
  
  
  
With a sickening crunch, the chandelier fell to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces, spraying those nearby with glass.  
  
"This is a death trap!" Mai cried from somewhere in the room.  
  
"I WANT TO GO HOME!" Someone else cried.  
  
Yugi thought to himself through the chaos.  
  
"Someone find the fuse box!" Duke called out.  
  
But there was no need to. At that moment, the lights flickered and turned back on the reveal the mess they had created in their panic. There was food and punch all over the floor, mixed in with glass from the chandelier.  
  
Yugi scanned the room to see if all his friends were okay. Joey was soaking in punch, but unharmed. Duke and Triston were standing with Serenity, Tea was beside him, Taerro was brushing crumbs off himself, Kaiba and Mokuba emerged from the room looking astonished, (probably at the mess in the room, Yugi though) and Bakura...  
  
Yugi looked around again. Bakura was...upstairs? By the chandelier controller?  
  
"Bakura!" he cried. "What are you doing up there?"  
  
"Did anyone get hurt?" he cried sweetly and innocently. "I accidentally thought it was a light switch."  
  
"Baka!" Someone cried up to him.  
  
"Sorry," he said in fake sadness, walking downstairs.  
  
Yugi sighed. At least everyone was okay, and they hadn't trashed the whole place.  
  
"What's the matter with you, Kaiba?" Duke asked as he walked by.  
  
"This whole thing was a scam," he growled.  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at him.  
  
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.  
  
"A scam. A set-up," he snapped. "While we were immersed in a black-out, they scooped up the decks and ran off with them."  
  
"How could they?" Yugi asked. "They couldn't carry them all..."  
  
"The trash bins," Yami sighed from inside the puzzle. "That's why there was so many of them. I should have known better."  
  
"They used the trashcans," Kaiba said, his fists clenched in anger.  
  
"But how do we get them back?" Someone asked. "That had my rarest card!"  
  
"How do we track down someone who we don't even know the name?" Yugi wondered.  
  
****  
  
End of Chapter 3  
  
"Ooh! All the decks gone? You right mean plots, Seto"  
  
No I don't! It's part of the story! Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! 


	4. Chapter 4 The Trail for Clues

Chapter 4: The Trail for Clues  
  
"This is horrible!" Joey cried, running into the room to see for himself, although, when Kaiba looked that angry, it had to be true.  
  
Yugi and the others walked inside too, for no reason, Yugi supposed, except maybe to look for clues as to who it was that threw the party and where their decks had gone to.  
  
"This is...impossible," Duke muttered, feeling across the table for anything. "But it makes so much sense. The thieves swept the decks across the table and into the trash bins. Then, carried them away with no suspicion."  
  
Kaiba backed up against the wall. He looked pale.  
  
It wasn't just his deck that was making him angry, it was the three cards that were IN the deck. His Blue Eyes White Dragons. No one had ever actually STOLEN his special cards before.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm...fine," he choked out, although he still had a pounding headache and it was getting even worse to think that he had actually fallen right into a thief's trap, and now didn't have his Blue eyes.  
  
"Yami," Yugi said sadly. "What can we do?"  
  
"I'm thinking, Yugi," Yami replied.  
  
"Let's call the police!" Mai suggested, and ran over to the phone.  
  
She dialed the police station and waited for a few moments.  
  
"Yes, hello," she said professionally. "This is Mai Valentine and I'm calling from the mansion on West Street. Several duelists..."  
  
She paused.  
  
"CARD duelists," she finished. "Were invited here for a party, only to have the hosts run off with their decks! Can you get over here and track down the thief?"  
  
She waited.  
  
"What do you MEAN there's no point in chasing backyard bullies and trading cards?!! Those cards happen to be my whole life!" Mai shouted angrily. "FINE! DON'T HELP US THEN!!!!"  
  
She slammed the phone down loudly and crossed her arms in anger.  
  
"They won't help!" she said angrily.  
  
  
  
"Then we'll just have to be like detectives!" Duke said coming forward. "We can track down these guys. I mean, with all our knowledge about guys like these, it should be easy to track them down!"  
  
"Detectives?" Mai sighed. "I want my deck back! I don't want to play pretend."  
  
"But that's the only way we can get our stuff back. I mean, other than spending a ton of money to HIRE a detective," Duke retorted.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Yeah!" he agreed. "But first," he turned to the crowd of people watching. "Everyone else go home! We'll find your decks for you!"  
  
There was a lot of murmuring and chatting as the other crestfallen duelists left the mansion.  
  
"Taerro," Yugi instructed. "You and Joey go outside and see if you can find anyone on the roads or walking around with a trash bin, okay?"  
  
They nodded and hurried outside.  
  
"Now, let's all split up and search for clues!" Yugi declared, and the gang split up and went in opposite directions to search for clues.  
  
Throughout the night and into the morning, taking occasional naps, they searched the house and all of it's contends. Tea even decided to clean up the punch mess.  
  
  
  
By ten O' clock the next morning, no one had found a thing except a stray duel monster card. (The Mad-Sword Beast)  
  
Joey and Taerro HAD, however, found a man walking around with a garbage can, and ended up spending half-an-hour picking up the garbage that was inside of it after finding out the man was putting his garbage down at the street for pick up.  
  
"This is hopeless," Yugi sighed, leaning back against the wall. "We need another strategy, just like in the card game when you're stuck against a trap."  
  
  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"They didn't own this mansion," Kaiba declared. "This mansion is a rental mansion, for special occasions like wedding receptions and parties."  
  
"So now there's no way to track the guy down?" Yugi cried.  
  
Kaiba stood there silently. (Probably thinking)  
  
"Well, let's all go home and think about this," Tea said, guiding Yugi and Bakura to the door. "We'll call each other after we've had time to think things through."  
  
Everyone agreed and went to their homes.  
  
Kaiba and Mokuba walked into the Kaiba mansion together.  
  
"I'm going to go research that mansion online," Kaiba said in a low voice.  
  
"Ni-sama," Mokuba protested. "I know you want to find out who took your deck, but you should really give yourself a break. You don't look too good."  
  
It was true. He hadn't felt right all morning, but he couldn't stop. Someone had taken his Blue Eyes White Dragons, and he was going to get them back...  
  
Suddenly, he stumbled and fell to his knees.  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, running over to him.  
  
Kaiba's cheeks were flushed.  
  
Mokuba felt his forehead.  
  
"Ni-sama!" he gasped. "You're burning up!"  
  
He grasped his hand and helped him to his feet.  
  
"Come on," he said worriedly. "You need to get to bed."  
  
Kaiba didn't protest. The two walked upstairs and to Kaiba's room, where he slipped on his pajamas and collapsed in bed. Mokuba tucked him in.  
  
"Now," he instructed. "I'll be back in a minute, but you stay here and try to get some sleep."  
  
Kaiba didn't need telling twice. As Mokuba shut the door, he put his deck worries away temporarily, closed his tired eyes, and fell fast asleep.  
  
****  
  
"What do you think we can do, Yami?" Yugi asked as he lay in his bed, thinking.  
  
"I'm not quite sure this will work, but when you register to rent something, don't you have to sign somewhere?" Yami asked.  
  
"Most of the time."  
  
"Well, then don't you think there's a place where we can find the mansion rental list?" Yami inquired.  
  
Yugi bolted upright in bed.  
  
"Yeah!" he said, pepping back up again. "And I know just the way to get to those files too."  
  
"You do?"  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"But I'll need to call Mai and Joey for this," he added with a mischievous grin as he picked up the telephone and dialed a number, leaving Yami to stare at him suspiciously.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Kaiba woke up hours later to the sound of a telephone ringing somewhere in the mansion. There was a damp cloth pressed against his forehead. It took him a second to remember what he was doing in bed at this hour, which was...  
  
He rolled over to get a glance at the clock on his bedside table. It read in flashing red numbers 2:15. Also sitting beside the clock was a thermometer and the largest bottle of water he'd ever seen. (I don't really want to know what that's for, he thought to himself)  
  
"Five more minutes," he thought to himself. "Then I need to get back to finding out who stole my dragons."  
  
The door opened.  
  
"Hey Ni-sama," Mokuba said brightly walking in with a piece of paper in hand. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Better, thanks," he replied, sitting up and removing the cloth. "Who was on the telephone?"  
  
"Well, first Yugi called, claiming he and the others had a lead on how to track down these criminals," Mokuba explained, gazing down at his sheet of paper. "I already said you couldn't come so they left already and said they'd call back later with a report."  
  
"I can go," Kaiba insisted, pushing back the sheets.   
  
He wanted to find his own deck by himself. He didn't want Yugi and his friends to have to get it FOR him.  
  
Mokuba leaned over and felt his forehead again. He shook his head.  
  
"Sorry Ni-sama," Mokuba said. "But you're still sick. Which reminds me of the second call. The doctor returned my message regarding you and he gave me some advice: You should stay in bed until the fever is gone and you should drink lots and lots of fluids."  
  
Kaiba's eyes wandered over to the gigantic bottle of water sitting on the table.  
  
"Please don't tell me that's what you had in mind," he said exasperatedly.  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yep. I hope it was enough..."  
  
"Enough?!" Kaiba exclaimed. "Mokuba, I'm not thirsty and..."  
  
"But it will make you feel better," Mokuba insisted, pushing it closer to him.  
  
Kaiba sighed and took a sip to humor Mokuba. Then, he recapped it and placed it back on the table.  
  
"Good, now be sure to drink the rest of it," Mokuba said, satisfied. "I'll come back and check on you later."  
  
Kaiba slumped back on the pillow and gazed up at the ceiling. He was trapped in bed with a headache and a giant bucket of water, while Yugi and his friends were probably doing something stupid to try to find the decks.  
  
He sighed.  
  
****  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
Please Review, as always, and next chappie up soon!  
  
"I feel sorry for Kaiba. I'd hate to have YOU go find my cards. You'd wreck them."  
  
**Sigh** 


	5. Chapter 5 Getting Closer

Chapter 5: Getting Closer  
  
Mai, Joey, Bakura, and Tea met Yugi in the middle of the town square at 2:00. (*Remember, Mokuba said they'd already left when he was talking to Kaiba)  
  
"Do we REALLY have to do this, Yugi?" Mai asked uneasily, shifting her weight from side to side.  
  
"It's the only plan we have, Mai," Bakura said to her. "You DO want to see Harpie Lady or whatever she is again, don't you?"  
  
Mai threw a nasty look at Bakura. Joey looked excited, Yugi looked determined, and Tea was worried.  
  
"Now, Bakura managed to find out that this building," Yugi pointed to it. "Is where you would sign the contract or list to rent that mansion."  
  
"Mai, you and Joey will go in and let Bakura sneak behind you so we can get in again if they lock the door," Yugi continued. "Mai, you tell the clerk that you and your fiancé..."  
  
"That's me!" Joey said proudly.  
  
Mai sighed.  
  
"...are looking for a mansion to hold your wedding reception," Yugi said. "Ask for a tour of the mansion, and when you guys leave, then we'll fish around on his computer files for the document."  
  
Joey nodded.  
  
"Let's just get it over with, then," Mai snapped, dragging Joey along behind her as she marched up to the building.  
  
She and Joey tried to take up as much space as possible to allow Bakura some room to sneak in as well. He hurried over to the back waiting chair and buried his face behind a magazine.  
  
"May I help you two?" The clerk asked politely. He had a slight Spanish accent.  
  
"Yes," Mai began immediately, not wanting Joey to blurt out something stupid. "My...my...FIANCE and I are looking for a place to rent that old mansion on West Street...for our wedding reception."  
  
Mai looked disgusted at these words.  
  
Joey nodded eagerly.  
  
"Oh! But we want a tour first as we've never seen the inside," Mai added in sweetly, but secretly scowling as she'd already blown it practically.  
  
Joey nodded again, a goofy grin on his face. Mai wished she could smack him, but that would definitely blow their cover.  
  
"Well, ma'am, I'm sorry to say that renting is no problem, but if you want a tour," The man replied with a frown. "You'll have to make an appointment for a later date."  
  
He typed something into his computer, then looked over at Mai and Joey.   
  
"How does next Tuesday at 5:30 sound?"  
  
"Next Tuesday?!" Bakura thought, horrified. "Joey, DO SOMETHING!"  
  
"Uh..." Joey muttered, thinking fast. "We can't wait! The...uh...the wedding is scheduled for tomorrow!"  
  
"Good one, Joey," Mai thought, glad Joey had actually made use of himself.  
  
"We need a definite place for the reception today," she declared.  
  
The clerk sighed and walked out from behind the counter, grabbing a set of shiny keys off of the counter before locking the little swinging door that separated the counter from the rest of the room.  
  
"Come with me, ma'am, sir," he said politely, but they both could tell he was irritated. (Of course, they didn't care. They were getting what they wanted.)  
  
The man walked over to the door and the three walked out.  
  
"I told you to find a place months ago!" Mai pretended to scold Joey, trying to add on to the scene. "Now look what we're making this poor man do!"  
  
"Sorry...honey," Joey added sweetly.  
  
Mai stepped on his foot as the man locked the door and they started off down the street.  
  
Yami Bakura took over Bakura again and tossed aside the magazine. He hurried over to the little door, hopped over it, and sat down in the computer chair.  
  
"Let's see," he muttered, quickly scrolling down the lists of registrations for various events, and rentals.  
  
"Ah!" he said, punching in the name "Yugi Motou" in one blank for a Saturday a week from now and then hitting 'enter.'  
  
"You're in for a treat soon, Yugi," he muttered evilly, then let his hikari once more take over after closing out of the registrations.  
  
Bakura blinked.  
  
"What?" he asked, looking around. "How did I get back here?"  
  
There was a tap on the glass. Bakura looked up to see Yugi and Tea waiting outside.  
  
"Just a minute," Bakura called softly, and looked up the rental list to the mansion.  
  
There was a creak from the door to another room in the building and loud music could be heard playing from inside. Someone else was singing along to it.  
  
Bakura started to sweat as he, quietly as possible, wrote down the top two names on the list on a scrap of paper he had found on the floor with a pen from his pocket.  
  
"I hope he or she doesn't hear me," he thought nervously, tucking the little sheet into his pocket along with his pen and carefully lifted himself off of the chair.  
  
It squeaked and Bakura, startled, stepped backwards and knocked a glass off of a shelf behind him. It fell to the floor and landed with a clunk, cracking off a large chuck, which skid under the desk.  
  
Bakura put his hands over his mouth, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. What if he was caught?!  
  
"Watcha doing in there, John?" Came a women's voice.  
  
Bakura tried to speak but his voice was gone.  
  
"John?" The women asked, more curiously than irritated now.  
  
Bakura found his voice and tried to speak in a low voice with a Spanish accent, but that was nearly impossible.  
  
"I...I just dropped my coffee mug," he stammered.  
  
"Coffee mug?" she called. "You don't drink coffee, John. You're allergic to coffee beans, remember?"  
  
"Great," Bakura muttered as he managed to get over the swinging door. (His body wasn't as...flexible as his body was when Yami Bakura was in control.)  
  
"I...I forgot! I didn't drink much...uh...I'll be back later!" he called, yelling the first thing that came to mind as he sprinted for the door, unlocked it, and ran outside, letting it slam behind him.  
  
"What?!" The women asked, peeking outside, but there was no one there anymore. Bakura, Yugi, and Tea had taken off down the street.  
  
"I got the first two names on the list!" Bakura panted as they sped around a corner, wiping sweat off his face.  
  
"Great!" Yugi cheered.  
  
"Now watch it was the wrong mansion," Tea muttered sarcastically, tripping over her heels.  
  
"I think the only other mansion in town is Kaiba's," Yugi laughed. "And I doubt he'd let anyone rent it."  
  
They all laughed as they continued back to Yugi's Game Shop.  
  
****  
  
An hour later, Mai, Joey, and the poor clerk returned to the shop.  
  
"I can't BELIEVE you would rent that DUMP to anyone!" Mai was shrieking, still acting.   
  
"Mai ought to try out for drama," Joey thought as he enjoyed the scene.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry ma'am," The clerk exclaimed as Mai started for the door.  
  
"By the way, Jim, I'm tired of...your accent. It gives me such a headache I don't think I'll be able to stand being around you anymore," she snapped to Joey and stomped out the door.  
  
"Bye!" Joey called happily.  
  
He turned to the man who was staring oddly down at broken pieces of glass on the floor.  
  
"I guess I'll be seeing yu," he said, heading for the door.  
  
"Aren't you going to catch your fiance?" The man asked, astonished.  
  
"Nah, when Mai...Maile makes up her mind about something, there's no changing it," Joey said with a shrug and walked triumphantly out the door after Mai.  
  
"John?" Came the women's voice. "Did you have an allergic reaction? Did you get help?"  
  
"What?" The clerk asked, confused, picking up the coffee mug on the floor.  
  
****  
  
Mai and Joey burst into the Game Shop 10 minutes later to find Yugi and Bakura scanning a phone book for numbers.  
  
"Did you get the names?" Joey asked, sitting down exhaustedly beside Tea, who was watching the other two search.  
  
"Mm," Yugi nodded, turning another page. "Bakura got them."  
  
"Whew!" Mai said, wiping her forehead to symbolize relief. "So all our dumb acting WASN'T a waste!"  
  
"I thought you were good," Joey complimented.  
  
"Whatever," Mai sighed. "So do we know where to find these creepy or not?" she asked Yugi and Bakura impatiently. "I want Harpie back!"  
  
"Okay, here's the first guy's number and address," Bakura said, writing it down.  
  
"And here's the other's," Yugi added, scribbling it down as well.  
  
He looked at the two addresses.  
  
  
  
"They're on opposite sides of town!" Tea exclaimed, examining them. "We can't all go to both of them."  
  
Yugi picked up the phone again.  
  
"We'll call up the others and make...teams," he said, dialing Duke's phone number. "Then we'll get our decks back!"  
  
****  
  
End of Chapter 5  
  
Things are starting to get good...  
  
"And Yami Bakura's being BAD. You know what he punched in Yugi's name for right? No? Well..."  
  
**Claps hand over her mouth**  
  
No giving spoilers! The rest of you, please review! Thank you!! 


	6. Chapter 6 TroubleDEEP trouble

Chapter 6: Trouble...DEEP trouble!  
  
Author's Note: Hey! Thanks for the reviews everyone! ^_^ Lol, to Dark Seto, Silver dragon Golden Dragon's review, and Lady of the Thread's reviews.  
  
Anyway, on with the Chapter!!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Hello?" Mokuba asked as he answered the phone.  
  
He walked silently by his brother's room, carrying the cell phone as he walked.  
  
"Yugi?"  
  
Inside, Kaiba lifted his head off of the pillow slightly to hear what was being said.  
  
"You think you've found the guy?" Mokuba asked. "Cool. I see. Sure I'd like to come, but Ni-sama is still running a fever, so I don't think it would be a good idea for him to come along."  
  
"I'll see you then," Mokuba said. "Bye!"  
  
There was a beep that signaled the phone had been turned off. Mokuba opened the door to Kaiba's room a crack and peeked inside.  
  
"Ni-sama?" he asked. "Are you awake?"  
  
"Yes," Kaiba replied wearily, resting his head on his hand. "What did Yugi say?"  
  
"He found out the name of the guy, or at least he THINKS it's the guy, and he and the others are heading out to find him tonight at 3:30. I'm going with them," Mokuba added.  
  
"I guess there's no point in asking to go too, is there?" Kaiba asked, with a small smile.  
  
Mokuba shook his head.  
  
"No, I can't let you," he said kindly, smoothing out the blanket. "But cheer up. We'll get your deck back."  
  
Kaiba sighed.  
  
"Could you pass me my lap-top?" Kaiba asked, pointing to it.   
  
It was sitting alone on his desk on the other side of the room.  
  
"Your lap-top?" Mokuba asked, thinking, as he picked it up. "Well, only if you promise not to play any exciting games, work on codes for games, or anything else that requires a lot of thinking." He said, handing it to him.  
  
"In other words," Kaiba replied unhappily. "I could play Solitaire."  
  
"I'm sorry, Ni-sama," Mokuba said apologetically, standing up and checking the clock. "I know it's not fun, but I want you to get better."  
  
"Whoops, it's already 3:20!" Mokuba gasped. "I'd better go!"   
  
He hurried over to the door and opened it.  
  
"Now, be sure to finish the water and get LOTS of rest while I'm gone," Mokuba said.  
  
"And YOU be careful," Kaiba put in.  
  
Mokuba nodded with a smile and closed the door.  
  
Ten minutes later, he arrived at Yugi's Game Shop.  
  
"Okay, I'm ready!" Mokuba said, walking inside.  
  
"Good!" Yugi replied, putting on his back pack. "We're going to both of the houses; one team per house."  
  
"Who is on which team?" Mokuba asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, you, me, Tea, Bakura, and Duke are going to check out the one on the east side of town, and Joey, Triston, Taerro Mai, and Serenity are going to check out the other," Yugi explained.  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Let's go already!" Joey demanded, opening the door. "I want to get my deck back!"  
  
"Me too," Mai said, following Joey and Serenity out the door. "Meet you back here later, Yugi!"  
  
Yugi waved good-bye as Triston and Taerro hurried after them.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Tea asked as they walked outside. "We could get hurt if this guy's a real thief."  
  
"Don't worry so much, Tea," Yugi replied, casually. "We've got Yami with us too."  
  
"I guess," Tea replied uneasily.  
  
And hour later, Yugi's group was standing in front of a large house in the middle of a large field. No other houses were near it, and the lights were on in only one room inside; the den.  
  
Yugi crept up to the window and peeked inside. Inside was a man, the host of the party they had attended, and a few others. (Probably the assistants)  
  
They were all looking over something on the tables, something that covered the WHOLE table...cards! Decks! Full decks sitting there, the holofoil ones glinting in the light.   
  
"There's the decks!" Duke cried, softly.  
  
"Those jerks," Mokuba growled through gritted teeth. "Look, there's Ni-sama's blue Eyes White Dragons are on top of his deck."  
  
"Hey!" Duke whispered, peeking around the corner. "The back door is unlocked! We can sneak inside!"  
  
"But what do we do once we're in?" Tea gasped. "What if they're armed?!"  
  
"Don't worry!" Duke reassured her. "I'm armed too."  
  
"With DICE!" Tea shrieked as loudly as she could without alerting the thieves to her presence.  
  
"Come on," Duke said, walking for the door and silently opening it.  
  
"I'm going to stay out here," Bakura whispered, looking embarrassed. "Just in case."  
  
"Okay," Yugi whispered with a thumbs-up symbol as he quietly walked inside behind Duke, closely followed by Mokuba and Tea.  
  
"Okay, let's go see the market for these," Came a voice from inside the den, and then there was a rustling of papers.  
  
Then, the four heard footsteps coming their way.  
  
Tea closed the door and looked around frantically.  
  
"Where do we hide?!" she mouthed to Duke, who seemed to be leading the "mission."  
  
Duke jerked his head toward a dark room down the hall.  
  
  
  
Tea hurried after Yugi, Mokuba, and Duke as they tiptoed down the hallway and into the room. Mokuba and Yugi hid behind a bed and Tea jumped into the closet, rustling a few hangers inside.   
  
Duke looked around for a moment, then he flattened himself against the wall behind the door.  
  
There was a few noises outside the room, a few keys being pushed on a keypad or computer keyboard, and then the noise of a locking door.  
  
After a few moments, Tea crawled out of her hiding place.  
  
"Are they gone?" she asked, looking out the door.  
  
"I think so," Yugi replied, coming out from behind the bed and crawling across the lumpy mattress.  
  
"Let's grab the decks and ditch this place then!" Duke cried happily, running outside the room.  
  
  
  
"This seems almost too coincidental," Mokuba muttered, crawling after Yugi across the bedspread.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"AND too simple," he replied.  
  
"Duke stop!" Tea screamed, running out of the room as Duke was about to turn a corner.  
  
"What?" he asked, stopping in midair, his leg poised.  
  
"Don't put your foot down!" she cried, waving her hand.  
  
"Why not?" Duke asked, looking at Tea as if she were nuts.  
  
"Look!" Tea cried, pointing below his shaking knee.  
  
A thin red line ran across the floor, stretching from one end of the doorway to another.  
  
"It's a security thing!" Tea gasped as Duke slowly pulled his leg back over the line and to safe ground. "If you had moved even a few steps further, we would have been in DEEP trouble."  
  
Duke nodded shakily.  
  
"Trust thieves to have a big security system. I'll bet we can't even get out of here without setting off an alarm!" Yugi cried.  
  
"What'll we do then?" Mokuba asked.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 6  
  
Well, the heroes are certainly in a spot of trouble.  
  
"I'll say! But you all know who's going to come to the rescue right? No? Well, it's someone who you wouldn't expect, that's for sure."  
  
NO SPOILERS! They'll just have to come back tomorrow and read more! But for now, Review as always! And thank you SO SO much for all your previous reviews! 


	7. Chapter 7 Operation Escape!

Chapter 7: Operation...escape!  
  
"We might as well get the decks back," Duke muttered, cautiously stepping over the red line and tip-toeing down the hallway.  
  
Tea and Yugi followed quietly after him, stepping neatly over the thin, red lines. Mokuba tripped over his sneakers and landed with a thud on the floor as he attempted to follow Yugi.  
  
"SHHHHH!" Three voices hissed as he got back to his feet, rubbing his knee.  
  
"Gomen,(sorry)" he said apologetically, stepping over the line and follow the three into the next room.  
  
Inside the den, heaps of decks were piled up, each one bound together with a rubber band so the cards from different decks wouldn't mix. They cautiously approached the table.  
  
"Do you think it's security-bound too?" Tea asked, staring down at the cards.  
  
"Get ready to run," Duke prepared them, then, he put his hand down on a deck.  
  
Everyone's eyes were closed and ears covered, as if they were expecting a bomb to go off at the very moment he touched the card, but nothing happened at all.  
  
Duke touched another, and another.  
  
"Hey! They're perfectly un-armed," Duke said happily, looking at the top card of each deck. "And here's mine," he added, stuffing it in his vest pocket.  
  
"Here's mine...and there's Joey's," Yugi said, picking them up. (The top card of Yugi's was Kuriboh. Joey's deck had Jinzo on top.)  
  
"And here's Ni-sama's," Mokuba said happily, picking up the deck with the Blue Eyes White Dragon on top.  
  
Yugi looked around and spotted a kitchen at the other end of the house.  
  
"I'm going into the kitchen to see if there's a trash bag or something to put the rest of the decks in," Yugi explained as he carefully walked down the hallway and into the kitchen.  
  
A bright light flashed into the house suddenly, blinding Mokuba, Tea, and Duke.   
  
"It's them!" Tea cried, knowing that the flash must be their car lights. "They're back!"  
  
****  
  
Meanwhile, Joey and his group had approached the other house, cautiously. They crouched in the bushes in front of the house and Mai peeped through the window.  
  
"There's a woman...and a man," she whispered. "They're talking and laughing."  
  
"Just like criminals do," Joey growled.   
  
He turned to Taerro, but ended up turning his face right into a branch of the bush. Spitting out leaves, he shoved the branch out of his face to see Taerro.  
  
"You," he ordered. "Go up to the house and pretend to be selling...pocket knives or something."  
  
"How about candy bars?" Triston suggested, pulling a Hershey's bar out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Taerro.  
  
"Why me?" he hissed.  
  
"Because you look the most innocent and geeky," Joey said bluntly.  
  
"You've got some nerve," Taerro snapped, snatching the candy away from Triston and slinking up to the house.  
  
He reached out one short finger and poked the door-bell button.  
  
Mai watched as the people inside stopped laughing and together, walked over to the door.  
  
"Can we help you?" The lady asked sweetly.   
  
"Uh...yes, I'm a Boy-scout and I am selling candy bars for a fund-raiser," Taerro lied, holding up the bar.  
  
"Really?" The woman asked. "What's the cause?"  
  
"Um...we're saving up to enter a Duel Monster's tournament," Taerro lied again, hoping if they were the criminals, the words "Duel Monsters" would cause them to create a give-away expression.  
  
  
  
However, the woman looked puzzled.  
  
"Duel monsters?" she asked.  
  
"I believe it's a card game, darling," The man replied with a smile. "You know? One of those trading games children play. Is it fun?"  
  
"Yeah," Taerro said.  
  
"Well, we might want to keep that in mind for when we have children of our own," The man said.  
  
"Yes, but in the meantime, how much are the chocolate bars?" The woman asked.  
  
"3.00?" Taerro said uncertainly.  
  
The man pulled out a 5 dollar bill and handed it to Taerro.  
  
"Keep the change," he said kindly, taking the bar from Taerro and handing it to his wife.  
  
"Thanks for stopping by!" The called and closed the door.  
  
Mai crouched back down.  
  
"I think THEY used the mansion for a wedding reception," she hissed.  
  
Joey sweat-dropped.  
  
"Oh," he muttered.  
  
"Then Yugi-san must be at the right house!" Serenity said.  
  
"Let's go back to the Game Shop," Triston said, standing up and getting out of the bush, brushing leaves off of his coat. "Oh, and Taerro, fork over the dough from the candy bar."  
  
****  
  
The bright light vanished and Tea realized it had only been a passing car's headlights.  
  
She sighed with relief.  
  
"Thanks goodness!" she gasped, as Yugi came back into the room with a garbage bag.  
  
"Come on!" he said and the four began dumping the remainder of the decks into the bag.  
  
"We still need a plan to get out of here!" Duke pointed out as they tossed the last of the decks into the bag and pulled the tie-strings together.  
  
Mokuba put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Um...I think if Bakura could give us the number of the security system from the keypad outside, Ni-sama could hack into it," Mokuba said.  
  
"But isn't he sick?" Tea asked.  
  
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping us out," Mokuba said, though inside he felt guilty for having to wake his brother up.  
  
Tea pulled a cell-phone out of her bag and put it up to her ear to hear for a dial tone.  
  
"It's good, I've still got a signal from inside the house," she said happily. "Now, what's the number?"  
  
Mokuba gave her the number as Yugi went carefully over to a window. Bakura was standing by a bush, looking expectantly up at the house. Yugi waved to him.  
  
"Bakura!" he shouted. "Go read off the numbers on the security keypad!" he shouted at the top of his lungs so Bakura could hear him.  
  
Bakura nodded and his mouth LOOKED as though he had replied "yes", however, Yugi couldn't hear him.  
  
Back at the Kaiba mansion, the phone Mokuba had left on Kaiba's bed table started to ring.  
  
Once.  
  
Twice.  
  
Three times...but Kaiba was in a deep sleep.  
  
"It's rung four times and no answer!" Tea said, starting to get nervous.  
  
"He's probably asleep," Mokuba said. "Just keep it ringing. It'll wake him up sooner or later."  
  
7 times.  
  
Kaiba opened his eyes and cringed as the sharp ring of the phone blared out at him.  
  
"Who would be calling?" he thought dimly as he pulled the pillow over his head. "I'll let the machine get it."  
  
Nine times.  
  
"But what if it's Mokuba?" he thought.  
  
Feeling guilty, he rolled over and picked up the phone. He pressed the "talk" button and put it up to his ear.  
  
"Hello?" he asked weakly.  
  
"Kaiba?" Tea asked. "Good. We need your help. We're trapped in the criminal's house and all the doors are sealed by security alarms. We're going to give you the number of the security system and you're going to hack in and disable it, okay?"  
  
Kaiba blinked.  
  
"Could you repeat that?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Tea repeated herself as Bakura came back, waving his hands.  
  
"Okay, here's the number," Tea said, as Bakura began holding up fingers slowly, to represent the numbers on the on the keypad.   
  
Kaiba copied them down on a sheet of notebook paper, then turned on his lap-top computer and set it down on his lap.  
  
"Okay, I'm working on it," he muttered groggily.  
  
"He said he's working on it," Tea informed the others.  
  
"Well tell him to hurry up, I want to go home!" Duke muttered, shivering.  
  
"Don't rush him!" Mokuba replied, then he turned to Tea. "Hey, can I talk to him for a second?"  
  
Tea handed Mokuba the phone.  
  
"Ni-sama?" he asked.  
  
"Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, opening up the screen to play with the security system. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, Ni-sama, but are you?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Fine, fine," Kaiba sighed, punching in the code Tea had given him.  
  
"Have you finished the water?"   
  
Kaiba looked over at the dreaded water-bottle. He hadn't touched it again. He leaned over and took a sip.  
  
"No, but I'm drinking it," he sighed, hoping the answer would satisfy his brother.  
  
"Hey!" Yugi cried, looking over at the doorway. The red line had disappeared. "I think he did it!"  
  
"Thanks Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried.  
  
"Your welcome. Bye," Kaiba replied, hanging up the phone.  
  
He set it back on the table, covered up again, and fell back to sleep.  
  
"Now let's get out of here!" Tea said and the four hurried over to the door...  
  
****  
  
End of Chapter 7. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you've got time, review!  
  
"Thanks for reading, and come back tomorrow for another chapter. There's still many obstacles ahead...remember Yami Bakura's threat?"  
  
:) 


	8. Chapter 8 A Mysterious Email

Chapter 8: A mysterious e-mail  
  
"Wait!" Yugi whispered, as a car drove in the driveway. "If we run away, these thieves will never be brought to justice!"  
  
"So? The police don't care about stealing cards," Duke replied, looking nervously outside.  
  
"But I have an idea to make sure they understand what they've done," Yugi said with a grin. "You three, go outside and get Bakura! Then, wait outside for me."  
  
"But Yugi...what are you going to do?" Tea asked nervously, grabbing his sleeve.  
  
"Not me, Tea," Yugi said, the Millennium Puzzle glowing. "Yami."  
  
"Go, Tea," Yami ordered, firmly, but not meanly.  
  
"Be careful," she whispered as she was lead back down the hallway by Duke, Mokuba following them, eyebrows raised in suspicion.  
  
Yami crouched behind the couch, placed his deck, Dark Magician face-up, on the table. The Millennium Puzzle began to glow, and so did the Dark Magician card.  
  
"Hey!" Came a muffled voice from outside. "The security's off!"  
  
"Baka, someone probably cut the wires!"  
  
"No, look! It still works!"  
  
There was a beep, indicating the system had been turned back on. Yami was very happy he had not been sitting in a red beam.  
  
"Shut that darn thing off and let's go in!"   
  
There was another click and the security was shut off once more. The three men entered, and before they could turn on the lights, the Dark Magician card sparked and up from it rose up a REAL Dark Magician!  
  
"Wha...what is this?" One of the men cried, backing up.  
  
"By stealing other player's cards, you've upset the heart of the cards," The Dark Magician said, his voice sounding quite like that of Yami's.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Another asked, looking around. "The decks! They're gone!"  
  
"True," The Dark Magician replied. "They've returned to their rightful owners. Now, what should be the fate of those who took them away in the first place?"  
  
"Oh no! Don't hurt us!" One of the men cried.  
  
"Don't be an idiot," The other said, waving his hand. "This guy is just a hologram. He couldn't hurt a fly."  
  
The Dark Magician aimed his staff at a box in one man's hand. He shot a powerful beam through it, causing it to explode.  
  
"Uh...maybe I was wrong?" The man said, backing up toward the wall.  
  
  
  
"I will let you live this time," The Magician continued, looking menacing. "But should you EVER harm the cards again, you will be very, VERY sorry!"  
  
Yami recalled the Dark Magician as he grabbed his deck and hurried for the back door. None of the men even saw him; they were still too petrified by the Dark Magician's words.  
  
Outside, Tea rushed over to Yami.  
  
"What did you do?" she asked anxiously. "You didn't..."  
  
"I didn't harm them," Yami said smoothly. "I just let the Dark Magician have a talk with them."  
  
Mokuba laughed.  
  
"That's the silliest thing I've ever heard, unless you mean you dueled him," Mokuba replied giggling.  
  
"Anyway, thanks for the help," Mokuba continued, starting off down the street. "But it's getting late and I need to get home."  
  
"Okay, are you going to walk?" Yugi asked.  
  
  
  
"No, I'll get a Taxi," Mokuba said, waving his hand good-bye.  
  
"See you later, Mokuba!" Duke called as the remaining three started off for Yugi's Game Shop to sort the decks.  
  
****  
  
When Mokuba got home, he bounded up the steps to his brother's room to tell him the good news.  
  
He opened the door and burst inside.  
  
"Ni-sama?" he asked in a whisper.  
  
There was no response. Kaiba's eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping soundly.  
  
"He's finally asleep, so I don't think I'll wake him up," Mokuba said, walking over to his bedside. "He'll see it when he gets up."  
  
He placed his deck down by the bottle of water (the Blue Eyes face-up), and then reached over to feel his forehead.  
  
"I think all my advice is helping," Mokuba thought to himself as he pulled the covers up higher and then started for the door.  
  
"Good night, Ni-sama," he whispered before closing the door.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile Yugi and the others had met back over at the Game Shop.  
  
"My deck!" Joey cried happily when Yugi handed it to him. He kissed the top card, as always. "Thanks so much, Yugi!"  
  
"I see my deck is SOMEWHERE in this garbage back," Mai replied grumpily, searching through the massive pile of decks for her own. "Here it is!" she cried happily, pulling a Harpie Lady deck out.  
  
"Seems like we've got everything back for ourselves, but what do we do with the remainder of the decks?" Bakura asked.  
  
"We'll just have to put them up here in the shop!" Yugi declared. "We can ask Kaiba, when he gets better, to do some searches on the duelists and who used what deck. "There's only about twenty or so here, and the duelists were all from this area. It shouldn't be too hard."  
  
Taerro nodded, then yawned.   
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm tired," he said, walked toward the door. "Coming, Bakura?"  
  
"Sure!" Bakura said happily, rushing to catch up with his friend. "See you later!"  
  
The two waved as they walked outside.  
  
"I'm beat," Joey declared. "I'm heading for home too. "See you later!"  
  
Yugi waved as the remainder of his friends walked out the door and toward their homes. Then, he walked upstairs and sleeping sat down at the computer to check his e-mail.  
  
He barely could keep his eyes open as he deleted the forwarded note from Joey and an old letter from Tea, and highlighted the last message in his inbox.  
  
"Funny, I don't recognize this address," Yugi thought to himself as he double-clicked to open it.  
  
Inside was a letter, formatted in a business-like manner.  
  
It read:  
  
"Dear Mr. Motou,  
  
Thank you very much for your interest in renting our amusement park, "Leisure Land." As requested, the entire park will be empty on the evening of Saturday, May 24, 2003, for you and your guests to enjoy.  
  
We have billed the account you requested when you registered, and we look forward to your presence at the park. We hope you and your party enjoy yourselves.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
  
  
Mark D. Mantony"  
  
Yugi stared for a moment in shock, then rubbed his eyes and pinched himself before looking back up at the screen.  
  
"I don't believe this Yami," he muttered. "I didn't sign up to rent an amusement park!"  
  
"This is very odd," Yami said to his partner, appearing behind him in spirit form.  
  
"Well, who DID sign me up then?" Yugi cried, turning around and facing his friend. "And what account was billed?! I'm sure Grandpa can't afford to rent an amusement park!!!"  
  
"Calm down, Yugi," Yami said, leaning through him to read the screen. "I'm sure we'll figure this out. Why don't you just back out?"  
  
"Yeah," Yugi said, regaining his common sense. "Yeah, I'll just e-mail them back and say I don't want to rent the park anymore."  
  
Yugi turned around and opened his inbox again, only to discover yet ANOTHER letter from someone he didn't know.  
  
The screen name was Unknown5562@yahoo.com and the subject was "Park."  
  
"Open it!" Yami encouraged and Yugi opened the letter.  
  
Inside, it said only a few brief sentences. (Written by someone who obviously didn't know how to type, nor spell very well.)  
  
"don,'t worree, about the park bill, it,s my present to yuu. Enjoy the park."  
  
That was all.  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter Eight.  
  
"Things are getting mysterious, though you already know who set Yugi up."  
  
In case you've forgotten, Yami Bakura set Yugi up for something when he was in the rental office.  
  
Anyway, please Review and next chapter will be up soon! 


	9. Chapter Nine Amusement

Chapter 9 Amusement  
  
Authoress' Note: "First of all, thank you all for reviewing, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far." -Red Archery Girl  
  
Secondly, though I might screw up every once in a while, I've decided to try to call "Seto Kaiba", "Seto" instead of "Kaiba when I'm talking about him. When Yugi or someone else addresses him, though, I'm still going to write "Kaiba" because that's what they always address him by. -Seto-Kaiba  
  
Chapter Nine:  
  
Yugi stared in disbelief once more at the screen. This was too weird to be true. No one, and especially not someone you don't even know, pays to rent an amusement park under your name just so you can have "fun."  
  
Yugi backed up nervously.  
  
"Yami, I don't get this," he muttered. "Who in the world would have done this?"  
  
Yami sat down (well, it LOOKED like he sat down anyway) on the chair.  
  
"I don't know, Yugi," he muttered. "But maybe we shouldn't go. This seems like a trap."  
  
Yugi sighed.  
  
"I'll ask my friends about it on Monday," he told Yami with a yawn.  
  
*****  
  
"Someone is letting you RENT an amusement park for a whole evening?!" Joey cried, jumping out of his desk on Monday, when Yugi told him about the two e-mails.  
  
  
  
Yugi nodded, but was slightly disappointed by his friend's response. Joey was just blinded by the "fun" aspect of it, just like the author of the letter wanted him to be.  
  
"Yes, but don't you think it's a little odd for someone to pay THAT much money for me and my friends to have "fun?" Yugi asked.  
  
Tea nodded.  
  
"This is weird," she commented.  
  
"Who cares?" Joey asked excitedly. "A whole evening of no waiting in lines, no crowded seats on the roller coasters, and a whole amusement park ahead of us! Let's go!"  
  
"JOEY!" Tea cried, smacking him. "This isn't all fun and games, you know. Yugi wants to know why this person set him up for this, and if it's safe to go."  
  
"So-rry!" Joey snapped, rubbing his head.  
  
"Look," Duke said, butting into the conversation. "There's only one way to figure out what this person was planning, and you know it. I may be a little biased, but I think we should check it out. And be careful." he added.  
  
"I TOTALLY agree with you, Duke!" Joey declared, putting an arm around Duke's shoulder. "We SHOULD go."  
  
"It would be kind of fun…" Triston muttered.  
  
"Maybe we should, Yugi," Tea said, turning to him. "If we're careful."  
  
Yugi thought to himself for a moment, then replied.  
  
"Sure, why not?" he asked with a grin.  
  
*****  
  
That afternoon, after school, Yugi went home and up to his bedroom. He tossed his back pack down on the bed and picked up the phone.  
  
"I think I'll invite Mokuba and Kaiba too," Yugi said to Yami as he dialed the number. "I mean, we do owe Kaiba for helping us out back with the security systems. Besides, it would be nice."  
  
Yami shrugged.  
  
"Sure," he replied.   
  
At the Kaiba mansion, the phone rang in the computer lab. It echoed along the steel walls, causing the sound to be louder than usual.  
  
Seto was in the lab, typing on the computer. (Mokuba had let him get back to his work, finally, satisfied that Seto was back to normal.)  
  
"Hello?" Seto answered the phone.  
  
"Kaiba?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Yes," Seto responded, typing on his computer at the same time.   
  
"Oh, well hi," Yugi said awkwardly. (he had expected Mokuba to answer) "Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Yes," Seto responded, typing his e-mail, wishing Yugi would get to the point.  
  
A weekend of rest had done the trick for him, though. (Seto doubted the water had anything to do with his recovery, though)  
  
"Well, I've…rented an amusement park on Saturday evening and I was wondering if you and Mokuba would like to come along," Yugi said quickly.  
  
"You rented…an amusement park?!" Seto asked, not typing anymore.  
  
"Uh…yeah, it's a long story," Yugi muttered, starting to feel stupid.  
  
"Well…I suppose we could come," Seto replied, still suspicious. Since when did Yugi have enough money to RENT a park?  
  
Even if going to an amusement park was not his idea of a well spent evening, Seto decided that Mokuba probably would like to go, and he was NOT letting Mokuba go anywhere alone with Yugi and his friends. (Trouble always seemed to occur around those people, Seto thought)  
  
"So you two will be there? It's Leisure Land, down town," Yugi informed him.  
  
"Yes, we'll be there," Seto sighed, going back to typing. "Good-Bye."  
  
"Bye now!" Yugi called before hanging up.  
  
"Okay," Yugi said, picking up the phone once more. "Just Bakura and Taerro and then I'll have my list of "Guests" set up."  
  
****  
  
Later that afternoon, Mokuba walked downstairs and into the computer lab to see his brother typing away on the computer.  
  
"Hi, Ni-sama, want some help?" he asked, sitting down in a chair beside him.  
  
"That's okay," Seto replied, sending an e-mail. "I've got things under control."  
  
"Oh," Mokuba said, looking at the screen. "Okay."  
  
"But I DID want to talk to you about something else," Seto said, turning to face his brother.  
  
"What?" Mokuba asked curiously.  
  
"Yugi has sort of…invited us to an amusement park this Saturday evening," Seto explained.  
  
"Cool! Can we…"  
  
"Yes, we can go, if you want," Seto said.  
  
"I DO want to!" Mokuba said happily. "But won't it be crowded in the evening?"  
  
"Yugi said something about renting the park," Seto muttered as he went back to typing. "I really didn't understand what he was talking about. I can't imagine him having enough money to do that."  
  
Mokuba shrugged.  
  
"Whatever," he said, popping up from the chair. "It's still going to be cool!"  
  
****  
  
The week passed fairly quickly. Seto spent most of it catching up on his work while Yugi and the others were taking exams in school. (The only redeeming aspect of the exams was the fact that after they were over, school was almost out for the summer)  
  
The evening of Saturday, May 24, 2003 was what everyone, with the exception of Seto, I guess, who wasn't too thrilled, was anticipating.  
  
That evening, Yugi got Mai to drive him, Tea, Joey, and Serenity to the park. Seto and Mokuba arrived a few minutes later and were shortly joined by Duke, in his own car, and Bakura and Taerro, who looked as though they had almost come from inside the park themselves.  
  
"What were you two doing in there?" Joey asked, getting out of the car.  
  
"We got here a bit early," Bakura explained.  
  
"That jerk who was going to meet you here and let you in saw us and told us just to say, "The park will shut down at 12:30. Have fun." Can you believe it?" Taerro asked, shrugging.  
  
"Oh well!" Mai said, running into the park. "Let's go!"  
  
"Come on, Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried, taking his brother's hand and leading him inside the park after Mai.  
  
"Let's go Yugi!" Tea said.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Yeah, but everyone! Meet at the Pizza Shop in the center of the park in 45 minutes!" he called after everyone. (Joey was following Mai, Serenity was going to the water rides with Triston, and Duke was going on the "Spinner," an odd spinning ride that was making Yugi sick just looking at it.)  
  
Seto and Mokuba walked up to the Rapid Ride and walked through the empty cue line. When they got to the front of the ride, no one was there to admit them. The doors were open and the rapid boats were coming up to the front, stopping for a minute, and then continuing on.  
  
"Do we just get in one?" Mokuba asked, walking forward.  
  
"I…suppose," Seto replied, joining him.   
  
He got in one boat and helped Mokuba in after him. Then, they buckled their seatbelts and let the boat continue into the water. After a few moments, the boat was freed from the automated part and was let loose on the water.  
  
The sun was setting and it was almost like a real rapid adventure, to be riding alone in the sunset.  
  
A circling bit of water appeared ahead of them.  
  
"Get ready to get wet, Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried happily as the boat tipped downward, splashing a large amount of water in both Mokuba and Seto's faces.  
  
Mokuba spit water out of his mouth and laughed.  
  
"Isn't this fun?" he asked happily as the boat took another dip.  
  
Seto nodded, but inside, this seemed too odd.  
  
"Is this entire park empty besides ourselves?" he wondered. "If so, I wonder why…and maybe it has something to do with how Yugi was able to afford this place…"  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter Nine.  
  
"OOoh, interesting!"  
  
Mm, hmm. Please Review! Next chapter up soon! And thanks for reading! 


	10. Chapter Ten: Changing the Atmosphere

Chapter Ten: Replacing the Atmosphere  
  
Authoress' Note: Okay, let's see...Joey probably should have tried to get Serenity to go with him instead of Triston, but maybe he's just too interested in Mai at the minute.  
  
"And hmm...Ceder Point? I vaguely remembering HEARING of it, though I've never been there. (Same for Seto) Actually the "Spinning" ride is on the ground, where there are many boxes in which you get into and the whole thing is connected to a post in them middle. All the arms spin around and the little boxes spin too, back and forth, jerking around. Again and Again and Again and again... I wouldn't want to be stuck on that ride." *hint hint*  
  
Enough giving stuff away! Let's continue with the story!  
  
Chapter Nine:  
  
While Seto and Mokuba enjoyed their Rapid Ride, Yugi and Tea were looking around for a ride to ride on themselves.  
  
They watched Duke hop into a little silver box that was connected to a large post by a skinny arm. A strange voice then suddenly came out of no where and spoke. It said, "Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle into the ride has come to a complete stop. The doors are closing now."  
  
Sure enough, the doors slammed shut and the buzzer that indicated the ride was about to start when off. Then, the little boxes began swinging around on the ground, jerking here and there, supported by the arms and the pole.  
  
"This is awesome," Duke thought happily to himself. "This is my FAVORITE kind of ride. Though, it probably would be a bit more enjoyable if I had gotten Yugi or someone to go with me."  
  
"Well, he looks happy," Tea said as she and Yugi continued to walk down the deserted paths. "But this place is a little scary, don't you think? I mean, is there ANYONE here besides us?"  
  
Yugi shrugged.  
  
"Come on!" he called, racing up to a mini-coaster. "This one looks fun!"  
  
Tea studied it for a second.  
  
"Well," she said nervously. "Okay!"  
  
They raced through the cue line and waited a few minutes for the cars to return. Then, they got in and buckled their seatbelts.  
  
Meanwhile, Triston and Serenity where walking around the water park. Beach music was coming out of a large speaker hidden in the tall grass on a display, but Triston could see it anyway.  
  
"Hmm, which ride do you want to ride, Serenity?" he asked, looking at their selections.  
  
There was an inner-tube ride, a "Snoozing Lake" ride that looked like all you did was float down a very long river, ("Eh, let's not do that one, Serenity.") and a "Water Falls" ride, which appeared to be very short and went up one side of a hill and came splashing down another.  
  
"Can we go on that one, Triston?" Serenity asked, pointing excitedly at the inner-tube ride.  
  
"Sure," Triston said happily, grabbing a large yellow raft off of the rack. "We'll need to use this too."  
  
Serenity looked upward. The inner tube ride didn't start until very, very high up off the ground. To get up there, there was a long set of stairs to climb.  
  
"Uh…Triston? Do we have to climb all the way up there first?" Serenity asked as she helped him carry the raft.  
  
"I guess so," he mumbled as the two began to climb carefully up the stairs.  
  
Meanwhile, Seto and Mokuba had reached the end of their Rapid Ride and the two got off, soaking wet, and walked back out onto the park path.  
  
"That was AWESOME!" Mokuba cheered happily. "Can we go on another ride now?" he asked excitedly, hopping up and down.  
  
Seto shrugged, looking around.  
  
"Sure, whatever you want to do," he replied.  
  
The "Spinner" ride slowed to a stop and the doors swung open. Cheerily, Duke hopped out and stretched.  
  
"Man, I love that ride," he said out loud. "I think I'll ride again after I get a drink."  
  
He walked out of the area of the ride and over to a soda machine. He deposited a few coins and pushed the button for a coke. After getting his soda, he looked around to see if anyone else was nearby.  
  
He could see Yugi and Tea riding the mini-coaster. (Tea was clutching Yugi's arm and screaming while Yugi's hair blew in the wind from the speed of the coaster) He spotted the Haunted House, but other than that the only thing in site, (aside from trees and scenery) was the Pizza Shop, where they were supposed to meet in 30 minutes.  
  
****  
  
In the control room of the park, Yami Taerro opened the door to the computer lab and sat down in front of a giant computer screen. At his fingertips was the entire control system of the theme park.   
  
He laughed maniacally as he hit screens to view the different areas of the park.  
  
He spotted Duke, getting back into the Spinner ride, he saw Tea and Yugi getting off the mini-coaster. Seto and Mokuba were walking around near the Merry-Go-Round and Triston and Serenity were getting toward the top of the stair case.  
  
"Let's see now, think they've had enough excitement yet, Bakura?" Yami Taerro asked Yami Bakura, who was walking in the room at that very minute.  
  
"No, I don't," Yami Bakura laughed, gazing at Duke who was closing the door to the Spinner. "Why don't you give them a taste of REAL excitement?"  
  
"Why not?" Yami Taerro said, punching a button belonging to the Spinner ride. "Have a nice ride, Duke."  
  
"Have fun giving them some excitement," Yami Bakura said, heading back toward the door.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Yami Taerro demanded, spinning the chair around to face his partner.  
  
"Listen, don't question what I do," Yami Bakura snapped. "I freed you, remember? You're here to help ME."  
  
Yami Taerro grumbled.  
  
"Fine. But where are you going?"  
  
And evil grin spread over his face.  
  
"To the Haunted House!"  
  
*****  
  
"That was fun!" Mokuba said happily, collapsing on a park bench, still sopping wet. "The Water Fall really gets you soaking."  
  
"It does," Seto agreed, sitting down next to him. "But is that a good thing?" he grinned.  
  
Mokuba laughed.  
  
Seto looked up into the evening sky. Despite his earlier disinterest in this park visit, he was enjoying himself. They hadn't seen Yugi or his friends all evening, it had just been Mokuba and he.  
  
"Hey look, Seto!" Mokuba said, pointing to the Merry-Go-Round. "Why don't we take a ride on that to dry off a bit before going on something else?"  
  
Seto stood up.  
  
  
  
"Sure, that's a good idea," he said as he and Mokuba walked over to the line and waited for the ride to stop.  
  
Then, the two boarded.  
  
Mokuba chose a brown horse with green eyes. Seto chose the one right next to Mokuba; a black horse with red eyes. (the red eyes really didn't suit the thing)  
  
"I would have preferred a bench," he thought to himself as the ride began, slowly. "But this way I'll get drier."  
  
Yami Taerro looked down at the "currently running" rides. He saw the Merry Go Round light up.  
  
  
  
"Someone's on the Merry-Go-Round?" he thought to himself. "Hmmmm…"  
  
Meanwhile, Duke was enjoying himself on the Spinner.   
  
"Gee, this is so fun!" he thought as the box took another jerk. "This ride seems a lot longer than the last one did. Oh well!"  
  
But after 5 more minutes, Duke started to sweat.  
  
"What's going on here?" he thought to himself. "I've never heard of a ten-minute ride before. Is it broken?"  
  
He looked at the control panel, and remembered the thing was automated.  
  
"Great, it's broken and who knows how long I'll be stuck in here!" Duke thought frantically.   
  
He looked on the park paths, but Yugi and Tea had gone off elsewhere.  
  
  
  
"Help!" he cried, banging on the window of the box. "Let me off this thing!"  
  
*****  
  
Joey and Mai were walking side by side. Joey turned to look behind him, but no one was following.  
  
"Hey, did Serenity go with Duke?" he asked Mai angrily.  
  
"No," she replied.  
  
  
  
"Good."  
  
"She went with Triston."  
  
"Ooh! Like that's any better!" Joey snapped. "I should have taken her with me!"  
  
"Oh come on! Give the girl a break!" Mai said, giving Joey a playful push. "Look, there's the Haunted House. Let's go in there. I'm ready for a scare."  
  
"And you even rhyme," Joey teased as the two walked past the plastic ghost statue and entered the house.  
  
****  
  
Serenity and Triston finally made it to the top of the inner tubing ride. They set the raft down and boarded. Triston helped get the raft started and they were soon zooming down the inner tubes.  
  
"Yay!" Serenity cried happily as the inner tube lifted up on the walls and skid downward at a very quick rate.  
  
"Having fun?" Triston asked cheerfully.  
  
Serenity nodded.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Triston asked, looking straight ahead. They were going to take a dip ahead, but there was no inner tube ceiling! The ride was opening up to the outside!  
  
"At the rate we're going, we'll fly right off the ride when we get to that dip!!" Triston thought, horrified as they approached the dip…  
  
****  
  
Cliffhanger, yes, I know. But don't worry, something will happen. -Seto  
  
"But good or bad, we cannot let you know." -Red  
  
  
  
Review as always, and next chapter up soon! 


	11. Chapter 11: Ride the rideUntil it stops!

Chapter 11: Ride the ride…until it stops.  
  
"Triston!" Serenity cried. "The ceiling!"  
  
"I know, just hang on to the raft, Serenity," Triston said bravely, taking her hand.  
  
The raft sped by the last bit of ceiling, and they both prepared for either the drop, or for the raft to just continue right of the tracks. But which one would it be?  
  
The drop.  
  
The raft sped downward and Triston felt his head brush up against something above him. But there was no more ceiling now, was there?  
  
Triston reached up with his free hand and touched something…clear plastic! There was still ceiling, just clear instead of bright purple as the other had been.  
  
"It's okay," Triston said gently, noticing Serenity had her eyes squeezed shut tightly. "The ceiling is still there, it's just see-trough."  
  
Serenity opened her eyes and gave a sigh of relief.  
  
"Thank goodness," she sighed as the raft came out of the inner tube and splashed into the water.  
  
Triston and Serenity used their hands to paddle over to the side of the mini-pool and then hopped out of the raft. Triston grabbed it and tossed it back in the pile of other rafts.  
  
Then, he stopped to look up at the ride.  
  
"It's so obvious that it gets clear ceilings at the end that I can't believe I forgot," Triston muttered as he took Serenity's hand again.  
  
"I forgot too," she sighed as the two started off down the darkening paths to the Pizza Parlor. "That was so scary! For a minute, I thought we were going to fly off the ride!"  
  
"Me too," he agreed.  
  
*****  
  
"Help me!" Duke yelled again, still trapped inside the box of the Spinner, even though no one was anywhere near him to help. "I'm stuck in a ride!"  
  
"This is so stupid," he thought as the ride gave another jerk, this one unexpected, and also unappreciated.   
  
He slammed up against the side of the tin box.  
  
"Ow," he muttered. "This ride is quickly dropping on my favorite's list."  
  
*****  
  
  
  
Seto and Mokuba were spinning around, faster and faster on the Merry-Go-Round.  
  
"We're really getting dry fast!" Mokuba called over the happy Merry-Go-Round music.  
  
Seto nodded, though the nod was hardly distinguishable as they were both rocking up and down on the horses as the Merry-Go-Round turned.  
  
"Don't you think this is a bit fast for a Merry-Go-Round?" Seto asked, his bangs whipping into his eyes.  
  
"Yeah!" Mokuba cried unhappily as the Merry-Go-Round teetered around on it's stand as it whipped around at 5x the speed a Merry-Go-Round should.  
  
"This is absurd!" Seto thought to himself as the Merry-Go-Round continued to spin wildly with no sign of slowing down. "Someone has tampered with this, or the system has screwed up."  
  
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried. "When is it going to stop?"  
  
"I don't know! Hold on!" Seto called over the music, which was starting to play even louder and crazier.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Mai and Joey had entered the Haunted House. They approached the cars of the ride and got in one. In the dim light of the Haunted House, Joey buckled himself and Mai in and the bar suddenly fell down in front of them. Mai excitedly grabbed the bar with both hands as an eerie yet oddly familiar voice began to speak to them.  
  
"Welcome to the really Haunted House," The voice said in a maniacally happy tone. "Enjoy your stay, for it may be your last visit anywhere."  
  
"They're certainly trying to scare us," Joey commented as he grabbed Mai's hand.  
  
"Quit being a baby, Joey," Mai snapped, tossing his hand back at him as the car began to move forward down the track.  
  
"All right," Joey mumbled, folding his hands in his lap as a door opened up in front of them and they entered the first terrifying room.  
  
A large coffin stood up in front of a graveyard, filled with oddly shaped tombs.  
  
"Ooh, let's read the names!" Joey said excitedly, leaning over the side of the car to examine the names on the tombstones.  
  
"Great, I'm riding with a guy who gets a kick out of reading the names on the fake tombstones in the Haunted House ride," Mai muttered sarcastically.  
  
"Hey, this one is weird," Joey muttered, leaning over further to read a name. "This name says "Joey Wheeler."  
  
"Did you die?" Mai asked angrily.  
  
"No," Joey answered, turning back to her.  
  
"Then don't worry about it," she snapped.  
  
"But hey," Joey cried, leaning back out again as the car kept going. "There's one that says "Mai Valentine."  
  
"They probably just got out some old school directory and wrote down the names," Mai said airily.  
  
"But we're in different years," Joey pointed out.  
  
  
  
Mai was beginning to get frustrated. She turned around to face Joey as the car continued through the graveyard, eerie noises playing all around them.  
  
"Look, Joey," she snapped. "Are you trying to scare me or something?"  
  
"No," he replied, shaking slightly. "But I think I'm scaring myself."  
  
Mai sighed and looked forward again.  
  
"Look," she said more gently. "Everything in here, with the exception of you and me, is fake. Everything!"  
  
Yami Bakura, who was watching from above them on a platform chuckled.  
  
"Well, almost everything at least," he said evilly.  
  
*****  
  
"Help," Duke said in an unenthusiastic voice, still trapped on the Spinner.  
  
"Oh brother, I never want to get on this ride again…if I ever get off," he thought to himself.  
  
*****  
  
"Hey Yugi, can we go on this one?" Tea asked, pointing to the "Travel Through Time" ride.  
  
Yugi looked up at the ride. There was a large dinosaur on the front cover of the poster.  
  
"Uh…sure, but then we'll have to go to the Pizza Parlor to meet the others," Yugi said, following Tea inside the building.  
  
Inside, there was a dimly lit room and several moving cars, fit for only two in each car. Tea and Yugi hurried over to them and hoped inside one.  
  
Tea grabbed Yugi's hand and helped him in the moving car.   
  
"Prepare for you travel through time!" Came a loud and cherry voice. "Remember, keep your hands and legs in the car at all times, and keep that seatbelt buckled!"  
  
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Tea said anxiously  
  
*****  
  
The Merry-Go-Round was going faster than ever, swirling around in a whirl of color. The cheery music that had been playing only a second before was now replaced by some odd music, with violins. (Probably to add to the atmosphere)  
  
"Ni-sama! It's not going to stop!" Mokuba called.  
  
  
  
Seto carefully hopped down off of the horse and clung onto it.  
  
"What are you doing?" Mokuba cried.  
  
"I'm going to try to turn this thing off," Seto called up to Mokuba. "You stay there and hold on!"  
  
"Okay," Mokuba cried, shutting his eyes so that pieces of debris floating in the whirlwinds wouldn't hit his eyes. "Be careful!"  
  
Seto walked slowly, clinging on to one horse, then another, then stopped when he saw a good position. As the Merry-Go-Round spun around, he saw the control panel. It would take a jump, but he could make it. He waited for the ride to flash by an open area of grass before jumping.  
  
He rolled to a stop, then stood up. He was off!  
  
He hurried over to the control panel and looked all the switches. He studied them for a moment, then saw the problem. The ride was set on max speed and loop. Seto pushed the emergency stop button, which was large, round, bright red, and had the words STOP on it.  
  
The Merry-Go-Round suddenly made a scraping noise; like metal against metal. The brakes were activated and the Merry-Go-Round was slowing down.  
  
In a few minutes, it was stationary.  
  
Seto hurried back on and over to Mokuba, who looked scared still. He helped him down off the horse.  
  
"Are you okay?" Seto asked, brushing Mokuba off.  
  
"I guess…" Mokuba muttered, looking around oddly. "But dizzy."  
  
"Let's just go to that restaurant Yugi was supposed to meet us at," Seto suggested, taking his brother's hand and leading him away from the ride. "That was absurd. I think I've had enough rides for now."  
  
"Yeah," Mokuba mumbled.  
  
*****  
  
"Drat!" Taerro cried angrily, pounding his fist down on the keyboard. "They got off safely?! No matter."  
  
He flipped up several more screens, one of Duke in the Spinner, one of Mai and Joey in the Haunted House, Tea and Yugi in the Travel Through Time ride, and Triston and Serenity looking around for a good ride.  
  
"I've still got plenty of other "victims," he muttered and then laughed maniacally.  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
See? No death. No one will die in this story. -Seto-Kaiba  
  
"And if Seto writes anyone to die, although I doubt Seto will, I'll edit it like the dubbers do and change it to "banishing them to the Shadow Realm." -Red Archery Girl  
  
Ha ha. Anyway, please Review and next chapter up soon! 


	12. Chapter 12: Rescue Number 2

Chapter Twelve: Rescue #2  
  
Tea and Yugi sat excitedly in their seats as they were taken through a professor's office, the professor explaining how he had invented a way to travel through time.   
  
"Now!" The robotic professor instructed the two, pointing to a dark tunnel. "You're journey through time will now begin!"  
  
"Oo!" Tea squealed, even though she knew it was pretend, as they passed through the dark tunnel and several flashes of colored light came in front of them.  
  
Then, they found themselves in a strange jungle. There were animal noises, distant and near, surrounding them. Tea shrieked when a large bird-like dinosaur flew over her head.  
  
"Relax, Tea, it's just a Tyarodactyle," Yugi said reassuringly, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I…I know," Tea muttered nervously, feeling stupid.  
  
Suddenly, all the lights went out, plunging them both into pitch black darkness. The only thing flashing was two yellow eyes from some moving creature that was approaching the vehicle.  
  
"We're sorry, there has been a delay in your travel through time," Came a very professional "Barbie"-type voice over a loudspeaker somewhere in the room. "Please remain IN THE VEHICLES with your arms and legs INSIDE. Thank you."  
  
"Thank you?!" Tea cried, gripping Yugi's hand very tightly. "DELAY?!"  
  
"Ow! Tea you're cutting off my circulation!" Yugi cried, trying to loosen the grip, but she only gripped his hand harder as something in the room let out a very loud roar.  
  
"What if we're already supposed to have been by this area, and the robot dinosaur is programmed to walk past here? We'll be squished!" Tea cried frantically.  
  
"Don't worry," Yugi said soothingly as he could. (he was afraid of that too, though) "Yami, help out will you?" he whispered to Yami.  
  
  
  
Yami took control of Yugi's body.  
  
"Don't worry, Tea," Yami said reassuringly. "It's all fake. Someone will turn the ride back on soon."  
  
"I..I hope so," Tea whispered as the Tyarodactel flew overhead once more.  
  
*****  
  
Seto and Mokuba walked by the Pizza Parlor, seeing no one was inside, and continued on to find the others.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked wearily. "Can we sit down?"  
  
Seto looked around. There was a bench by a soda machine near one of the smaller rides. He nodded and he and Mokuba walked over to the bench and sat down.   
  
"I'm still dizzy from that Merry-Go-Round, and watching that spinning thing isn't making me feel any better," Mokuba moaned, shutting his eyes so that he wouldn't have to watch it.  
  
Seto looked at the ride. It was the Spinner. It was spinning back and forth, foot-lights all around it, illuminating it.  
  
"Hmmm, someone's riding it. Maybe it's one of Yugi's friends," Seto said out loud, getting up to get a closer look at who was in the ride.  
  
Duke looked up and saw Seto walking toward the ride. Immediately, he started banging on the window pane again and shouting.  
  
"Hey! Kaiba! Let me out of here!" Duke cried as he spun around.  
  
"Oh, it's Duke," Seto muttered. "Hmm…he doesn't look happy."  
  
Duke started making cutting motions at his throat and pointed (or tried to at least) at the control box.  
  
"HELP!" he mouthed. "It's STUCK!"  
  
"Help?" Seto wondered, turning back to Mokuba.  
  
"Wait here a moment," he told his brother.  
  
"No problem," Mokuba mumbled.  
  
  
  
Seto started to walk down the dark path to the control box. As he walked along, something in the bushes startled him. He whirled around, posed to attack, when Serenity and Triston walked out onto the path and into the patch of light from the street-lamp.  
  
"Oh," Seto muttered, putting his hands down. "What are you guys doing?"  
  
"Coming back to eat?" Serenity asked, looking up at Triston. "Right?"  
  
"Yeah," Triston agreed. "What are YOU doing? And where's your bro?"  
  
"Mokuba," Seto replied cooly, stressing his brother's name. "Is waiting for me on the other side of this ride, on which Mr. Devlin is currently stuck."  
  
The ride behind them continued to spin wildly, showing absolutely no sign of stopping.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean Duke's stuck on that ride?" Triston demanded.  
  
"Poor Duke!" Serenity cried.  
  
"Well," Seto snapped, walking toward the control box and trying the handle. "The ride isn't stopping."  
  
He jiggled the handle, but nothing happened. It was locked.  
  
"Stand back," he instructed Serenity and Triston before throwing his weight upon the door in an attempt to force it open.  
  
Still no good.  
  
"How about a credit card?" Triston asked.  
  
"Get me off this thing!" Duke's faint voice could be heard yelling.  
  
"Just hold your horses!" Triston snapped loudly.  
  
Seto rummaged through his pockets for his wallet and pulled out one credit card. He slid it through the crease between the door and the room and the door opened. Seto walked inside, followed by Triston, who turned on the little light, and Serenity, who was watching the ride nervously.  
  
"Which button?" Triston asked, looking around.   
  
"I don't know," Seto mumbled, looking at the descriptions on each lever and button.  
  
"How about we just try some and see what happens?" Triston asked, reaching out to touch a large purple one.  
  
"DON'T…touch a thing," Seto snapped, and Triston recoiled his arm.  
  
"Now let's see," Seto said, looking down at the buttons. "Ah, here's the problem. It's set on "loop" which means the ride will repeat itself over and over again without stopping."  
  
He flicked the button off and a few minutes later, the ride slowed to a stop. The doors opened and Seto, Triston, and Serenity ran out onto the platform to see Duke.  
  
Shakily, Duke stepped out of the box and stretched. His legs felt like they had fallen asleep and something hard had landed on them as he tried to walk around.  
  
  
  
"Aah," he muttered. "Thanks for helping me out. I've only been stuck on that ride for 30 minutes now."  
  
"Poor Duke," Serenity said.  
  
"Yeah, but WE came to your rescue!" Triston pointed out, trying to draw Serenity's attention back toward him.  
  
"Yes," Serenity nodded. "Mr. Seto was really great in the control room!"  
  
Triston anime-fainted. Seto seemed unmoved by her comment. Instead, he turned around and walked back onto the path toward Mokuba.  
  
"Hmmm," Yami Taerro thought, studying Mokuba, who was slumped down on the seat of the bench. "Little lonely, MOST unprotected boy," he whispered, his fingers raised and pointed at his picture in the camera. "Time for a little test of my powers…"  
  
He shot out a blue ray, which was sucked into the screen and shot back out again a few feet from where Mokuba was sitting.  
  
"Where is Ni-sama?" Mokuba wondered, when his eye caught onto the ray coming toward him.  
  
He tried to get up, but was too dizzy to stand that quickly, and ended up falling to the ground, but luckily, missing the ray, which smashed into the soda machine.  
  
A large explosion was heard and then soda, cans, and plastic went flying everywhere and Mokuba covered his head with his hands to protect himself.  
  
"Mokuba!" Seto yelled, running down the path toward him. "Mokuba," he repeated as his brother got to his feet. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know," Mokuba muttered, looking back at the broken soda machine as his brother put his hands on his shoulders. "I was just sitting here and suddenly, this weird blue ray came out of nowhere!"  
  
"What happened?" Triston asked as he, Duke, and Serenity approached.  
  
"Something odd," Seto muttered, standing up straight again. "Something VERY odd."  
  
"Whoa," Duke whistled looking at the smoking mess of a soda machine. "Something weird is going on here."  
  
Serenity grabbed onto Triston's arm, scared.  
  
"Don't worry," he said comfortingly.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Taerro sighed.  
  
"You'd think they had their own powers, the way they avoid trouble like that," he muttered to himself, pushing a few keys on the keyboard curiously.  
  
"I don't understand half of this weird advanced technology," he mumbled. "It's all so complex. But then again," He turned the camera's view for the haunted house. "It can be useful."  
  
A camera turned on in the platform area where Yami Bakura was still watching Mai and Joey go along their way. He sensed something odd behind him and whirled around to see the camera.  
  
"Hey!" he snapped, his face filling the whole computer screen. "I didn't ask you to spy on me! Take care of the others!"  
  
He reached around back and yanked a cord out of the back of the camera and Yami Taerro's screen went dark.  
  
"I hate working for him," Yami Taerro muttered angrily. "Talk about attitude."  
  
"I hate having him for a partner," Yami Bakura muttered, brushing his hands off. "He's so unreliable."  
  
Yami Bakura looked back down at where Mai and Joey should have been…but their car had already moved on into the next room.  
  
"Darn!" he hissed, and hurried off to find them.  
  
****  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
Thanks for reviewing, everyone! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!  
  
"Review please! Next chapter up tomorrow!" 


	13. Chapter 13: Dark Tunnels and Monsters

Chapter 13: Dark Tunnels and Monsters  
  
"Have you seen Yugi around?" Seto asked Triston and Duke, turning around to face them, his back to the broken soda-machine.  
  
Triston shook his head.  
  
"Not since we first started out in the park," he replied.  
  
"I saw him and Tea walking up toward one of those rides over there," Duke said, pointing straight forward.  
  
"That's no help!" Triston protested. "You were spinning around. You could have seen him over there yet thought he was walking on the other side of the ride!"  
  
"No, I saw him before I got in the ride again!" Duke protested angrily. "We've got no other options right now anyway. We may as well check it out. What if they're in danger too?"  
  
"Mm," Seto muttered, and the five began to walk toward the new area of rides.  
  
The names of the four neighboring rides, illuminated by the light of the street-lamps, were "Travel Through Time," "Hit the Bird," ("Hey! Can I try it?" Triston asked, holding up a mini-gun.) "Dunk the Volunteer," however, there were no volunteers to dunk, and a Ferris Wheel.  
  
"Put that gun back," Seto demanded, looking up to see if Yugi and Tea were stuck on top of the Ferris Wheel.  
  
"They're not up there," Duke muttered, squinting to see the very top.  
  
"They're not in the shooting game," Serenity said, peering behind the counter.  
  
"I'm guessing they're not in the water of the "Dunk the Volunteer" booth," Mokuba muttered, peering inside just to be sure, although he had meant the comment as a joke.  
  
Triston walked forward toward the time traveling ride. A little sign near the ride read: "It's Time to Travel!"  
  
"Hey, they're stealing the Duel Monster's logo," he protested.  
  
"No, I think they're just using a play on words with the words "Time" and "Travel," Duke replied.  
  
Mokuba rolled his eyes.  
  
"Who cares?" he asked joining to the two. "I'll bet they're on this ride!"  
  
"Yeah," Seto agreed, and he and Mokuba started to walk inside, closely followed by Duke, Triston, and a still-scared Serenity.  
  
Inside, the vehicles were stopped, which was unusual as most of the time they were always running, causing the guest to have to run and jump to make the ride. (Triston had a small scar to prove that it wasn't always easy to do)  
  
  
  
"Why isn't everything moving?" Duke asked, peering down the track into the darkness.  
  
"I don't know," Seto muttered, looking down the other way.  
  
"Is Yugi-san stuck on the ride?" Serenity asked nervously.  
  
Duke turned back around to face the others.  
  
"Maybe," he said sadly, putting his hand to his chin to think.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked his brother. "Can we just walk down the track to see if they're inside?"  
  
Seto walked toward the other end and looked down the same way Duke had just looked.  
  
"We probably could have, but all the lights have been turned off," Seto replied.  
  
Suddenly, a faint roar and scream filled the air.  
  
"They're in there!" Triston cried.  
  
Seto turned around quickly.  
  
"Does anyone have a flashlight, or pen-light?" he asked the others.  
  
"I do," Serenity replied, letting go of Triston's arm finally and pulling out a lime green pen with a goofy smiley face on top. "Sort of."  
  
She pushed a button on the side and the smiley face lit up, dimly.  
  
"That'll do," Seto replied, taking it from her.  
  
He pulled the smiley face off of the pen to let the light show like a real flashlight, handed it back to her, and turned around.  
  
"Let's go," he commanded.  
  
The four followed him down the tracks, constantly having to be pressed against the wall to avoid smashing into a stopped car.  
  
"Yugi!" Tea cried as a large something moved around them.  
  
"It's all fake," Yami said again.  
  
"I heard Tea's voice again!" Triston cried. "She sounded scared."  
  
"Let's hurry," Duke said, as he rubbed hands against something. "This feels like a plastic person."  
  
Suddenly, the whole room lit up. Everything turned bright, the music began playing again, and the Professor Tea and Yugi had seen now began to talk again.  
  
"Hello folks, and get ready to Travel through time! That's right, it's time to TRAVEL!" The professor said loudly, jerking around as most robotic characters do.  
  
"Ah!" Duke cried, jumping backwards, startled by the man's sudden movements.  
  
Seto turned around and saw the cars moving again. He shut off the pen-light and hurried over to them.  
  
"Come on!" he called, helping Mokuba into one.  
  
Duke and Triston followed with Serenity behind them. They all squeezed into one that was two seats behind Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"Yeehaw!" Duke called out happily. "We're moving again!"  
  
But no sooner had the words left his mouth did the ride immerse in complete darkness again and all the seats stopped. There was a flash of light as Seto turned back on the pen-light, and shown it back on Duke.  
  
Duke grinned embarrassedly.  
  
"Sorry?" he asked.  
  
Seto climbed out of the seat, Mokuba following him, and the team began to walk down the dark corridors again.  
  
*****  
  
A large mummy popped out in front of Joey and Mai's vehicle, but he grazed against Mai's arm and she felt it was plastic.  
  
Joey, on the other hand, screamed.  
  
"Oh come on!" Mai yawned. "The guy was so plastic he was shining because of the lights."  
  
"Oh…oh yeah!" Joey said worriedly, trying to stay cool. He couldn't look like a wimp in front of Mai.  
  
Yami Bakura peeked out at them from behind a coffin.  
  
"Hmmm, not real enough for you, Mai?" he asked, pulling out his dueling deck. "Well, try these."  
  
His Millennium Ring lit up and he held three cards up. They began to glow and three monsters appeared in front of him.  
  
"Now," he said, staring at his new workers, so to speak. "Go and give them a REAL scare."  
  
He laughed maniacally as they walked, limped, or floated away.  
  
The laughter filled the entire house, causing goose-bumps to rise on Joey's skin.  
  
"Wha…what was that?!" he cried.  
  
Mai glared at him.  
  
"This IS the Haunted House you know," she snapped. "Why did you come in here if you didn't want to be scared? Or at least, tried to be scared. This place is pretty lame."  
  
She stared straight forward with a bored expression, until something caught her eye.  
  
"Wow!" she said, staring into the graveyard they were passing. "That looks just like a duel monster I've seen before!"  
  
"Duel Monster?" Joey asked excitedly, turning around to see. "Which one?"  
  
He spotted an odd, blue-skinned monster with strange pointed ears. It's eyes were narrow white slits and it held in it's arms a strange, broken doll.  
  
"Eww!" Joey cried, falling back into Mai. "That's Dark Necrofear! One of the worst Duel Monsters ever!"  
  
"Dark Necrofear," Mai repeated, turning her head to keep it in view as the car continued to move along. "That's what it is. I've never been able to find that card, but it's cool that it's in this Haunted House. I mean, that is where it belongs."  
  
"Why couldn't they have put in a Petite Angel?" Joey muttered as Necrofear began to move toward them. "And why is everything in here so life-like?" he thought to himself, turning away from the creepy fiend so he wouldn't think about it. "It's not going to get any closer," he told himself. "It's fake."  
  
Suddenly, Mai shrieked.  
  
"What is it?" Joey asked, turning around to see her.  
  
They were approaching the exit of the ride.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Mai sighed. "This little bouncing critter with a little spear gave me a start, that's all."  
  
The bouncing critter popped up again, lunged at Mai, then fell back to the ground.  
  
"That looked just like a Spear Cretin!" Joey exclaimed, naming another card name.  
  
"Yeah," Mai agreed, looking down at it.  
  
Suddenly, it popped back up and hit Mai's arm. Mai drew her hand back quickly and gasped.  
  
  
  
"What is it? Did it hurt you?" Joey cried.  
  
"No," Mai gasped. "No, but it's skin felt so…real!"  
  
"REAL?!" Joey cried as they approached the exit door. "It's a good thing this ride it almost over." he  
  
thought to himself, starting to unbuckled.  
  
Something moved beside his door of the car as he looked down at his seat belt.  
  
Mai screamed.  
  
"What?!" Joey looked up and came face to face with Dark Necrofear.  
  
*****  
  
I do feel sorry for Joey and Mai. They are in DEEP trouble.  
  
"I wouldn't want to come face to face with Necrofear even if she WASN'T real."  
  
Anyway, please review! Thanks! 


	14. Chapter 14: Friend or Fiend? Or Neither?

Chapter Fourteen: Friend or Fiend? (Or neither?)  
  
"Joey!" Mai cried, backing up and out of the car. "Joey snap out of it!"  
  
Joey sat there, paralyzed with fear as he stared into the white eyes of Dark Necrofear. A black atmosphere surrounded Necrofear itself, making Joey even more horrified.  
  
"D…Da…dark…" he muttered, too scared to speak.  
  
"JOEY!" Mai screamed, reaching for his hand.  
  
Necrofear let out a loud shriek as it prepared to strike Joey. Joey found his voice and screamed. The doll in Necrofear's arms let it's mouth fall open and it made a shrill noise.  
  
Mai grabbed Joey's hand and yanked him out of the car and away from the monster as it's eyes lit up with red and it blasted the wall, causing a smoking hole to form in it.  
  
"Whoa! It's...it's a real monster!" Mai screamed, backing up.  
  
Necrofear was advancing quickly, the doll still shrieking, Necrofear staring into them with its blank, evil stare. The Spear Cretin popped up behind it and started scampering away, thankfully not after them.  
  
"Let's go!" Joey cried as Necrofear prepared for another attack.  
  
He took Mai's hand and the two ran down the spookily-decorated hallway and out into the darkness of the night. The paths were lit up by lamps on the street.  
  
"How're we going to ditch that thing?" Mai shrieked, shaking Joey's arm to get him to respond.  
  
"Uh…" he mumbled, when they heard another explosion behind them.  
  
Mai screamed again and started running at full speed as Necrofear, followed by another monster, The Headless Knight, came out of the haunted house.  
  
Mai's high heels caused her to fall to the ground and Joey halted and ran back to help her.  
  
"Get up, Mai!" he cried, tugging on her arm.  
  
"I'm trying!" she cried angrily, digging her nails into his hand as he lifted herself up, leaving her shoe behind, but with two fiends right behind them, she couldn't care less.  
  
"Let's get going!" he cried, yanking her out of the way of a Necrofear blast.  
  
The two bounded down the sidewalks and away from the two monsters. ( The Spear Cretin was hopping away somewhere else.)  
  
Yami Bakura laughed maniacally as he watched Necrofear and the Headless Knight chase after Mai and Joey.  
  
"Helpless people," he chuckled. "This is the end for Yugi and his friends! Soon his precious puzzle will be mine…and something else…"  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Mokuba, Duke, Triston, and Serenity were continuing their search down the tunnels.  
  
"Ah!" Serenity cried, running forward and crashing into Duke.  
  
"What is it?" Everyone asked, turning around, Seto literally shedding some light on the situation with the pen-light.  
  
"Something grabbed me!" she cried, looking behind her, as if searching for a monster.  
  
But the only thing behind her was Mokuba.  
  
"Sorry if I scared you," he apologized, walking forward toward his brother. "I was just trying to get my balance. I thought your arm was the car."  
  
"Oh…it's ok," she said, relieved.  
  
"Yugi!" Duke called down the tunnel.  
  
  
  
"Are you down there?" Seto added.  
  
"Yes!" Came a vague voice. "But be…ful…there…saurs!" (They couldn't quite catch everything he said)  
  
"They're down there!" Seto confirmed, moving forward. "Let's go!"  
  
The group continued into the next room, and with the new environment came new sounds. Jungle sounds, and moving and rustling.  
  
"Is someone in here?" Triston asked, feeling around in the darkness.  
  
"Well, at least this place is wide," Mokuba said, stepping off of the track for the cars. "We're not squished anymore."  
  
"Be careful," Seto instructed as Mokuba and Duke left the tracks.  
  
"Yugi!" Duke called.  
  
His reply was a roar. Duke jumped back in fright and hit the trunk of a tree.  
  
"OW!" he cried, rubbing his back angrily.  
  
"Watch out," Triston called from somewhere in the room. "There're robotic creatures in here."  
  
"Ah!" Mokuba cried as he bobbed into the leg of something large. "I…I see."  
  
"This way!" Seto called, flashing the light around so everyone could see.  
  
"Are they coming to rescue us?" Tea asked Yami as she turned around and caught a faint glow of light. "Uh oh! Something weird with one eye is coming close!"  
  
Yami turned around and squinted in the darkness.  
  
Yes, someone was approaching, but he didn't think it was as bad as Tea thought…  
  
"Guys?" he asked as the crunch-crunch-crunch on the leaves of the ground continued toward them.  
  
"Yugi?" Duke asked, coming into view, and everything illuminated because of the flashlight.  
  
"Guys!" Tea cried, getting out of her car and running over to them. "Come on Yugi!"  
  
Yami got out of the car and looked around. He started counting.  
  
"What were you guys doing in here?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Where's Joey, Mai, Taerro, and Bakura?" Yami asked, noticing they were the only ones not with them.  
  
"I haven't seen any of them since we split up at the beginning of the evening," Triston commented as they started to walk back out of the torturous ride. "Maybe Joey's at the pizza place eating without us."  
  
"Onichan better be safe," Serenity said, worriedly.  
  
"Joey can handle himself," Duke muttered. "It's Bakura and Taerro I'm worried about. I don't think they'd do so hot on a mixed up ride."  
  
"You mean you were stuck in a ride too?" Tea asked, looking up at Duke's dimly lit face.  
  
"Well," he started. "I was stuck for about 30 minutes on the Spinner."  
  
Tea gasped.  
  
"Yikes!" she cried as they entered the main hallway.  
  
"Ni-sama and I were stuck on a Merry-Go-Round that was out of control!" Mokuba pointed out.  
  
Tea gasped again.  
  
"Double yikes!"  
  
"And Tristan and I thought the ride we were on was broken but it wasn't," Serenity said. "So we were pretty lucky."  
  
"Ah! Daylight…er…nightlight!" Triston yawned, stretching as they re-entered the lobby of the Time Traveling ride.  
  
Seto folded his arms.  
  
"So what now? Are we going to go chase that dog?" he asked, referring, of course, to Joey.  
  
Yami sighed.  
  
"I suppose we have to, we can't leave him or Mai or the others out there," Yami replied as they walked out into the night air.  
  
A scream and a crash suddenly reached their ears. Serenity jumped and the others looked around.  
  
"What the heck was that?!" Triston asked.  
  
"That sounded like onichan!" Serenity cried nervously.  
  
"Don't worry," Duke reassured her. "You stay here with…Tea and Mokuba, and we will go find your brother!"  
  
"Hey! I want to come with you, Ni-sama!" Mokuba cried in protest, running over to his brother.  
  
"It'll be safer for you to stay here, all right?" Seto asked kindly.  
  
Mokuba sighed.  
  
"Be careful."  
  
Seto, Duke, Triston, and Yami took off down the path and Tea led Serenity and Mokuba back into the time ride room, just to be safe.  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, Yami Taerro was looking down at the floor, impatient.  
  
"What is taking so long?" he wondered angrily. "I thought that incapable evil spirit let me free so we could steal Yugi's puzzle and gain its power? Why is he playing in the haunted house?"  
  
He looked up at the screen and rubbed his eyes.  
  
  
  
"What in the world…" he asked, looking at Necrofear and The Headless Knight chase Mai and Joey down the path near the Roller Coaster. "NOW what has he done?!"  
  
There was a bang on the door behind him. Taerro whirled around and stomped over to the door.  
  
  
  
"Now look here, evil spirit," Taerro demanded, opened the door. "I'd like a word with you and…what the?"  
  
When Taerro opened the door, not Yami Bakura was there, but the Spear Cretin with its spear raised.  
  
"BAKURA!" Yami Taerro yelled as the Spear Cretin hopped in and began lunging furiously with its spear at Taerro, the chair, the computer, and anything else in the room.  
  
Taerro backed up and hurried out of the room.  
  
  
  
"That is the LAST straw!" he hissed as he ran away from the cretin. "The partnership is over! I work solo!"  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 14  
  
Well, now we see what their plan is…or rather WAS as now it's been sabotaged by 3 Duel Monsters.  
  
*Shudder* "Yami had better start helping out!"  
  
Don't worry, I know what will happen.  
  
"But WE don't!!"  
  
Oh well. Please Review! Thank you! 


	15. Chapter: Yami Strikes Back with help fro...

Chapter 15: Yami Strikes Back (With help from a friendly fiend!)  
  
Yami Taerro took off down the park paths, catching a glimpse of Dark Necrofear blasting the popcorn bin to bits. The Headless Knight chopped a park bench in half.  
  
"This is absurd! How idiotic can you get?" Yami Taerro asked shaking his head.  
  
"Well," he said calmly, walking toward the exit. "I've got better plans for how to take what I want from Yugi, and from you, Bakura."  
  
He turned around and laughed in front of the exit to the park.  
  
"You should have never released me!" Yami Taerro cried, laughing, before turning and walking out of the park.  
  
*****  
  
"Joey it's gaining on us!" Mai cried as she flung herself and Joey behind a tent.  
  
She slid back onto the ground, breathing deeply.  
  
"Mai, get up!" Joey cried, tugging on her hand. "They'll find us!"  
  
"I can't run anymore," she panted sadly.  
  
Joey looked wildly around, then he pushed Mai into the tent.  
  
"Stay there!" he cried, and ran out into the open.  
  
Dark Necrofear and The Headless Knight were advancing toward them, wrecking everything in site.  
  
"Yoohoo!" Joey cried, waving his arms around to call attention to himself. "Hey! Dumb fiends! Over here!"  
  
The two looked up at Joey and began coming toward him at an alarmingly fast rate.   
  
"Okay…" he cried, turning and running. "Now what?!"  
  
"AAA!" he cried loudly.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Yami asked, looking around. "That was Joey!"  
  
"Hmm, you're right, his bark is unmistakable," Seto couldn't resist throwing in.  
  
"JOEY!" Duke called. "Joey! Over here!"  
  
Meanwhile, Joey was running with all his might, zig-zag, so as to avoid any attack form either of the two monsters.  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can do this!" he panted as he turned a corner sharply. "They don't get tired!"  
  
"Hmmm, maybe I have more attack points than they do," he muttered to himself.  
  
He heard another explosion behind him.  
  
"Or maybe not!" he laughed embarrassedly.  
  
He turned another corner and ran smack into Duke and Seto, knocking them both over.  
  
"Oh hey, Joey," Duke muttered, rubbing his head.  
  
"Watch where you're going," Seto grumbled, getting to his feet and brushing off his coat.  
  
"Oh, sorry…but wait! We're in BIG trouble!" Joey cried, gasping for breath. "A REAL Dark Necrofear and Headless Knight are on my tail! They'll be here any minute!!"  
  
"What? Joey I think you're just scaring yourself!" Triston protested.  
  
There was a chop and the whole tent collapsed behind them, revealing the Headless Knight and the Dark Necrofear.  
  
"SEE?!!" Joey cried, starting to run away.  
  
"Yugi! Do something!" Triston yelled, starting to back away as well.  
  
Seto and Duke's eyes were wide as they backed away from the two monsters.  
  
"Yami, use the Millennium Puzzle! Summon a monster from the Shadow Realm, like where whoever summoned these monsters got them from," Yugi instructed his partner.  
  
Yami backed away and pulled out his deck. He fumbled with the cards, looking for a good one, but Necroefear was reading for an attack.  
  
"YUGI HURRY!" Joey cried Necrofear's eyes turned red.  
  
"GO KURIBOH!" Yami cried, raising up and glowing card and releasing a Kuriboh for a shield.   
  
However, Kuriboh was not interested in being destroyed by Necrofear's blast. It floated over to Yami and cuddled up against his cheek.  
  
"Kuri, kuri-kuri!" It squeaked sweetly.  
  
"No!" Yami cried, grabbing the Kuriboh with both hands, tucking it under his arm, and running down the path and away from the blast.  
  
"Run!" he shouted back at Seto and Duke, who were still staring at the monsters.  
  
"Huh?" Duke asked, breaking his gaze at the monster and turning to Yugi.  
  
"Right," Seto said, grabbing Duke and dragging him out of the way of The Headless Knight, who instead took out his revenge on the Shoot the Bird stand.  
  
"Let's see…let's see," Yami muttered as he ran away from Necrofear. "Where IS the Dark Magician?"  
  
  
  
Yami ran by the Time Traveling ride, where Tea, Mokuba, and Serenity were watching anxiously. Serenity screamed when Dark Necrofear passed the window.  
  
"WHAT IS THAT?!" she shrieked.  
  
"It looked like a Duel Monster," Mokuba commented. "Maybe it's one of those people dressed in the character costume wanting kids to shake their hand and give them a hug."  
  
"And he's chasing Yugi because…" Tea asked.  
  
Mokuba shrugged.  
  
"He didn't want a hug?"  
  
"What's he got under his arm?" Tea asked, leaning out the door and noticing Kuriboh.  
  
"Stuffed animal?" Mokuba guessed.   
  
"Look out! Yugi!" Joey cried from behind him as Necrofear got ready for another attack.  
  
  
  
"I can't…find…" Yami muttered desperately, searching through his cards.  
  
"YUGI!" Tea cried.  
  
Suddenly, Kuriboh popped out from under Yami's shoulder and grabbed one of his cards.  
  
"KURI!" It demanded, handing it to Yami.  
  
Yami took once glance at it, then held it up.  
  
"GO! MULTIPLY!" Yami cried, causing the Kuriboh to multiply into hundreds of Kuribohs, stalling Yami for time as Dark Necrofear tried to take them down.  
  
"Ah! Here it is!" he said, sighing with relief, pulling out the dark Magician.  
  
"Dark Magician!" he cried, releasing his favorite monster.  
  
  
  
The Dark Magician approached Dark Necrofear.  
  
  
  
"Dark-Magic Attack!" Yami ordered and the Dark Magician lowered it's staff and shot a powerful spell at Necrofear, destroying it and it's doll.  
  
"Yes!" Yami said happily as the many Kuriboh's turned back into one Kuriboh.  
  
"Arigato, Kuriboh," he said, giving it a small pat on the head.  
  
"One down and 1 to go!" Joey cried, running over to Yami, Triston behind him.  
  
  
  
"Where did Kaiba and Duke go?" Yami asked, looking around.  
  
The two and the Headless Knight were no where in site. Just trash and debris of the once beautiful park paths littered the floor of the amusement park.  
  
"And we still haven't found Bakura and the other kid!" Triston pointed out.  
  
Suddenly, a large chop filled the air, and two yells.  
  
"That must be they!" Yami said, taking off down the path, Kuriboh, Joey, and Triston running after him.  
  
"Hey, what is this thing?" Joey asked, prodding Kuriboh as they ran.  
  
"I don't know," Triston muttered. "I guess it's a Kuriboh from the Shadow Realm."  
  
Joey shook his head with a laugh as they turned a corner near the haunted house and kept on running.  
  
"That little thing? It looks like it could have been a prize from the Hit the Bird game," he chuckled.  
  
"Kuri?!" Kuriboh yelled and bopped Joey in the jaw.  
  
"OW!" Joey cried, rubbing his jaw tenderly. "Okay!"  
  
Meanwhile, Seto and Duke were being chased by the Headless Knight down the dark paths.  
  
"How can it see us if it doesn't have a head?!" Duke cried as the hurried behind a tent, hoping to confuse it.  
  
Seto didn't reply.  
  
"Be quiet," he hissed a Duke as he watched the Knight look (or turn) around.  
  
Seto looked down at the ground and saw a large piece of metal on the ground. (The popcorn boiler from the stand Necrofear demolished.)  
  
He picked it up, took aim, and threw it right at the Knight. It hit his metal coat with a clang of metal against metal. The knight shook his body around and looked to see who had hit him.  
  
"I think he sees us!" Duke whispered.  
  
"If you keep talking he'll HEAR us," Seto snapped.  
  
"Hey, guys?" Came a female voice from down the path.  
  
Seto leaned out into the path and saw Mai, tired and shoeless, walking down the path.  
  
"Guys?" she asked with a yawn.  
  
The Knight raised it's sword and starting running full speed at her.  
  
"Mai!" Duke cried.  
  
"Duke?" Mai asked, looking around; that's when she caught a glimpse of the knight headed straight for her.  
  
"Aah!" she cried, turning around and starting to run.  
  
Seto and Duke ran out from behind the tent.  
  
"HEY!" Seto yelled, hoping the knight would prefer the two boys to the one girl, but there seemed to be no stopping it.  
  
It ran at full speed as Mai ran as fast as she could on tired feet. It raised it's weapon and jumped into the air. Seto and Duke looked on in horror as it came down to land its attack…  
  
*****  
  
End of Chapter 15.  
  
"Poor Mai!!"  
  
*Nods head* Yes, poor Mai. This story will probably have about 1-2 more chapters, and then I'll start a new one. (Of course, the story plot of this one will be finished first!)  
  
In the meantime, thank you SO much for reading, and please leave a review if you have time! 


	16. Chapter 16: The End of the Fiends

Chapter 16: The End of the Fiends  
  
"Mai!" Duke cried, looking horrified as the knight prepared to come down upon a terrified Mai.  
  
"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Came a strong voice from behind Mai and something whirled over her head.  
  
It was the Dark Magician! He raised his staff again and blasted the headless Knight to bits. Then, he came back down at his master's side. Kuriboh was still floating around near Joey and Triston as they approached Yami and Mai.  
  
Mai's eyes were wide.  
  
"Nice one, Yugi!" Duke called as he and Seto ran over to where Yami and the others were.  
  
"Are you all right, Mai?" Yami asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Uh…yeah…yeah…" Mai stammered nervously, then she blinked and turned around.  
  
"So…" Triston muttered, looking around at the now quiet amusement park. "So…we got them all?"  
  
Mai shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Necrofear?" she asked the others.  
  
"Dead. Just like it should be," Joey replied.  
  
"But one question remains unanswered," Seto muttered.  
  
"Yeah. Who conjured up these beasts in the first place," Duke nodded.  
  
Yami thought for a moment.  
  
  
  
"There are few people left capable of doing these sorts of things," he said out loud. "Shadi, the man we met in Pegasus's Castle and on the Battle Ship. He has the Millennium Key. Bakura…"  
  
"Whatever happened to his Millennium Item?" Joey broke in.  
  
Yami shrugged.  
  
"I don't know…or at least, can't remember," he said, trying to think back to the last time he had seen Bakura with the ring.  
  
  
  
Yami Bakura looked on in anger from the haunted House as he realized his monsters were gone.  
  
"Drat," he muttered angrily, punching his fist into the wall. "My monsters destroyed, and where did Taerro go off to?" he asked himself.  
  
He sighed.  
  
"At least I can't give away my cover just yet," he muttered, letting his hikari side take over.  
  
"Huh?" Came a confused voice, and the others rushed over to the Haunted House to see what the problem was.  
  
"Bakura!" Yami cried, relieved, both to see that his friend was not hurt and that he was not possessed.  
  
"Where am I?" Bakura asked, looking around with the oddest expression on his face.  
  
"The…amusement park?" Joey tried.  
  
"Amusement park?!" Bakura cried. "But I can't remember coming here…"  
  
"Wait…I remember planning to come here, but everything that happened since we arrived, it's all a blank!"  
  
"Maybe he hit his head or something and forgot," Triston suggested, grabbing Bakura's arm. "Listen!" he said happily to everyone. "We can't just LEAVE the place like this. Let's pick up a little, and then let whoever that nice friend of yours who invited us here pay for the major repairs."  
  
"Sounds good," Yami said with a thumbs up and let Yugi back out.  
  
"Yeah, aside from the "we clean up a little," Joey grumbled.  
  
"Guys!" Came a voice from behind them.  
  
Tea, Serenity, and Mokuba were running over to them, waving.  
  
"Did you get rid of that thing?" she asked as she looked around to see who was there. "And what's up with that…that…KURIBOH!?"  
  
"Yes, we destroyed both of the monsters," Yugi replied.  
  
"Both?!" Yami Bakura thought deep in Bakura's mind. "What about the last one…?"  
  
"And this," Yugi replied, tickling Kuriboh a little. "IS a Kuriboh that I summoned to….to help us." (He WAS going to say "as a shield for Dark Necrofear's attack, but didn't want to hurt the little thing's feelings.)  
  
"Kuri-kuri!" Kuriboh squealed happily, floating around.  
  
"But…" Yugi continued, pulling out Kuriboh's empty card. "I believe you've helped enough for today, and you can go home now."  
  
"Kuri…" Kuriboh mumbled sadly, looking up at Yugi with giant, watery eyes.  
  
"I'll visit you again," he promised.  
  
It was only after that did Kuriboh agree to return to his card. He zoomed back inside in a flash of white light, leaving Yugi and the others to themselves again. (The Dark Magician returned by itself.)  
  
Seto, Mokuba, and Duke were all staring oddly at Yugi as he put his cards away.  
  
"That was weird," Mokuba commented.  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"So…should we start picking up?" Triston asked, gesturing to all the pieces of scrap that littered the floors.  
  
Yugi sighed.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Seto was working on a new design for his Virtual Reality simulations (he wanted to use Virtual reality simulations in cooperation with CD-ROM games) when Mokuba walked in holding a sheet of newspaper.  
  
"Hi Ni-sama!" he said cheerily, putting the paper down on the desk.  
  
"Hello, Mokuba," Seto replied, looking up from his work. "What have you got there?"  
  
"Oh, it's a 50% off tickets coupon for Leisure Land!" Mokuba said with a grin. "Were you interested?"  
  
Seto laughed, as he knew Mokuba was only joking.  
  
"I think I've had enough of Leisure Land for a while," he commented with a grin.  
  
Mokuba smiled back.  
  
*****  
  
Later, everyone (with the exception of Seto and Mokuba) met back at Yugi's game shop to discuss the previous night's events.  
  
"Man, I'm just glad the whole thing is over with," Joey muttered, stretching out on the couch. (Duke pushed him back over to the corner, however)  
  
"I don't like nearly getting chopped in half by headless monsters," Mai added, looking at her newly polished nails. "Or being chased by dead-looking ones. Or getting hit by little bouncy ones."  
  
Joey sat up, nervous.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried.  
  
Everyone turned to look at him.  
  
"What's wrong, Joey?" Tea asked, narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
  
  
"The little bouncy one…Spear Cretin…" he sputtered. "Did you kill one?"  
  
Yugi shook his head.  
  
  
  
"I thought there were only two monsters," he replied.  
  
"Ahhh!" Joey cried, scratching his head furiously.  
  
"You mean that monster is still out there somewhere?!" Mai exclaimed.  
  
Yugi turned pale. There was no telling what a Duel Monster could do on the loose.  
  
"Maybe it will just…go away!" Triston laughed, nervously.  
  
"Or go back home!" Serenity suggested.  
  
"Sure," Joey muttered, sweating, as he fumbled with the remote.  
  
"What are you doing, Joey?" Yugi asked as Joey switched channels.  
  
"Onichan?"  
  
"I'm going to the news station to see if there are any reports of wild monsters lose," Joey admitted and everyone became silent and looked attentively at the TV screen.  
  
"Yami?" Yugi asked his partner, spiritually.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you think the Spear Cretin will cause anyone to get hurt?" Yugi asked as the news camera focused in on the Grand Opening of a new car shop.  
  
Yami shrugged.  
  
"I don't know…" he said honestly. "Maybe the summoner called it back."  
  
"Well, we'll find out some day, won't we?" he laughed with a smile.  
  
Yami joined in.  
  
"We will!" he agreed.  
  
*****  
  
End of Story!  
  
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and I hoped you liked it. Get ready for my next story which will start on Monday! I'm think of the title "Summer of Surprises."  
  
"Bye for now, everyone!" 


End file.
